


The Invincible

by LSS1995



Category: Girls und Panzer
Genre: F/M, Friendship, Tanks, Tournaments, WW2 Tanks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-26
Updated: 2016-07-26
Packaged: 2018-07-26 23:39:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 51,675
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7594825
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LSS1995/pseuds/LSS1995
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Hi I am Lynnette Bishop but you can call me Lynne, I am hear to tell you a story. The story of how I lead the Koala Forest High School Sensha-do team to become like there ships name, Invincible. Follow my journey from its shaky beginning to its glorious end. This is a story of friendship, of the love for a sport and of what you can achieve through hard work and teamwork.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

The ground shakes as shells start to land all around us, even inside my tank I can fell the vibrations caused by the impacting shells. All around me my crew is scared. I can see it in their eyes when they look at me waiting to be told want to do next, I can see it as their bodies shake when they are completing the orders I give and I can hear it in their voices as they talk. This is their first match, their first battle. I didn't have enough time to prep them, I needed more time. But she wouldn't allow it, for some reason that girl is hell bent on stopping me from reforming the Sensha-do team. But I can't think of that now, I need to get my team through this match. Another shell hits us, this one glances off our armour but the horrible sound of metal on metal sends a screech through the tank that makes everyone stop and cover their ears. We can't stop firing, we can't move and we are outnumbered. What do we do? How can we get out of this? "Come one you're supposed to be the leader of this team" I quietly remind myself as I think. What do we do?

* * *

**One Week Earlier**

* * *

"So this is my new home" I say to myself as I stare at the European style detached house in front of me, a two floor house with a small garden in back and in front. It looks nice and like my old home back in London only smaller, I can hardly remember that though as I lived in a dorm at the boarding school I attended. Living with my parents again does seem nice though, back in England it was rare we would all be together but hear I hope it will be different. My dad got a job offer to run the local hospital here and accepted, it meant moving half way across the planet to one of those Japanese carrier ships but I was happy when I heard he took the job. Don't get me wrong I liked my old school and home, I will miss my friends but now we have a chance to be together as a family again so I couldn't let the opportunity pass. I can feel the smile one my face as I walk into the house, my home for the first time. It's not as big as the home we had back home with a joint living room dining room and a kitchen in the back, a stair case along one wall and a beautiful stone fire place built into the opposite wall. It looks nice and familiar, reminding me of home. I go upstairs and see there is only two rooms, a master bedroom and a bathroom. My room is up even higher in the loft, when I first heard that I was a bit mad but after my dad showed me a picture of it I shut up. The room is just as good as the picture he showed me, better even, a double bed fit for a queen, a desk and computer for me to use and a large wardrobe. Two massive windows give a great view of the sea and port that so good it makes you want to break down in tears it's so beautiful. "I think I'll like it hear" I say quietly to myself as I stare out at the gorgeous scene.

"Lynne dear can you come give us a hand with these boxes" My mother calls up to me breaking me out of the trance the view put me in.

"Ok" I reply with a sigh as I wipe away the few tears brought out of me, I was hoping to enjoy the view for just a bit longer. "Coming"

I sigh walking down the stairs knowing they will give me some heavy boxes to carry, I know they know I can handle the weight. Several years of playing Sensha-dou across Europe has made me stronger than most girls my age, it has led to some teasing though and people calling me a tomboy but I don't let it bother me. Besides, here in Japan Sensha-dou is a female dominated sport unlike back in Europe where it's manly males who take part in it. So when I do find that some heavy boxes left for me to move I move them with a smile, they aren't as heavy as tank shells that's for sure. So I move the boxes thinking about what it will be like to be part of my new schools Sensha-dou team, I already can tell I will have to try out for it because from what I hear Sensha-dou is popular in Japan and the girls that take part in it are celebrities like the football players back home. I really can't wait, I just hope I don't mess up at the try outs. Just as I am about to grab the last box I am brought out of my day dream by a light knock on our new front door. I look over and see a small cute looking girl that must be a middle schooler, she has bright green emerald like eyes and beautiful black hair tired into a ponytail that looks so smooth and soft.

"Hello" I say as I abandon my job of moving the boxes to greet her by letting the box fall to the ground landing with a small quiet thud, my Japanese is great thanks to my dad teaching me on the plane so I am able to communicate with the locals.

"Hello" The girl replies nervously looking me over while fiddling with the bottom of her shirt, she is so cute and must be a neighbour's daughter and I am sure her parents must be close by. They must be just behind her and she ran excitedly ahead of them, any second now they will be right behind her. "I am Yura Ishihara, I live next door" She says as she takes something from her bag, it's a folder with she hands to me. "Your class schedule, student hand book and student ID card are inside… The teacher asked me to give it to you and to introduce myself since we will be in the same class and sitting next to each other" Wait did she just say we are in the same class? No way that can't be right, she is half my size so this is ever a joke or I miss heard her. Yes it has to be a joke and my real class mate will jump out in a minute laughing. "I know I am small for my age" She says as if she read my thought. "But we are the same age and in the same year, everyone thinks what you are thinking at first. By the way I have also been asked to walk with you to school to make sure you know the way and don't get lost, if you want me to I can knock for you and courter to eight tomorrow morning"

"Sure that sounds good, I am Lynnette Bishop by the way but you can call me Lynne if you want" I reply still not believing that we are the same age but as I say so she looks at my arm where I have a tattoo of my old teams emblem a Churchill tank with the words "Who dares wins" written underneath.

"Do you take part in Sensha-dou by any chance?" She asks sounding more confident now than when we first met looking closely at my tattoo.

"Yes, back in Britain I played on my schools team, we won the European Championship twice in a row and the English school league for the last six years in a row. Of cause I was only part of the last two wins and never took part in the European Championship match but I had fun" I tell her looking at the tattoo and smiling at the memory of charging head long into battle as the ground erupts with explosions all around my tank, my first battle in charge of that tank didn't end will but me and my crew could help but laugh till our sides hurt afterwards. "How is this schools team?"

"Not good" Yura answers looking down. "We haven't won anything in years, I don't think ever"

"I'm sure they will one day" I say with a smile. "Anyone can win if they give it their all and never give up"

"Maybe" She says before my mum appears.

"Nearly done dear?" She asks me before she notices Yura stood in the doorway who's gone back to fiddling in with the bottom of her shirt again, I think I get her now she just isn't good at meeting knew people but quickly gets more confident the longer she's speaking. "Oh, I'm sorry I didn't notice you standing there"

"Mum this is Yura Ishihara, she lives next door and is in my class" I tell her and I see my mum blinking in disbelief that a girl the size of Yura is my age, I did doubt at first but now that I have talked to her I am starting to believe she really is my age. "Yura this is my annoying mother and mum I have only one more box to move"

"It's nice to meet you Yura and Lynne who are you calling annoying?" My mother replies painfully pinching my cheek. "I'll leave you alone so I can finish unpacking, bye Yura"

"Goodbye, it was nice meeting you" Yura says as my mum walks away. "I should tell you that I heard that the Sensha-dou team may be disbanding this year, I think all the member graduated and there is no one to lead the team or wanting to join"

"Ok" Is all I can say, I was looking forward to joining the team and now I hear it's not going to exist any more unless. "What if I run it? I have been a tank commander, gunner, driver and section leader before and I am sure I can lead the team"

"There's nothing stopping you" Yura replies with a smile. "I'll join if you will let me, I'm sure my height won't help but I will try my best"

"Relax my tank loader was missing half his leg and still could do his job" I tell her happy she will help me. "I'm sure you will too, have you ever done anything like this before?" Yura shakes her head. "It's easy so don't worry too much, I'll teach you everything you need to learn"

"Thankyou" Yura says with a bow, I don't get why but when she raises back up she is smiling. "I always wanted to do this but I never thought I had a chance to do it, I have to go now but I will see you tomorrow ok"

"Ok bye" I reply returning her smile.

"Bye" She replies as she leaves, maybe I will get the Sensha-dou team going and I already have the first member.

* * *

The first day of school was a lot of fun, Yura came over and shown me a short cut that saved a lot of time. It still to fifteen minutes thought, but we passed the time by taking over how to get people to join. Yura also tells me she confirmed the fact that the Sensha-dou team is disbanding and has no members, last night she had her friend in the Student Council confirm the information and also told her what we are planning. When we arrived at the school we found her friend waiting for us at the main gate handing over some paper work which I need to fill out if I want to run the club, I wasted no time and by the end of lunch I had the forms filled out and in her hands. We also got three new members from our class, I just walked up to them introduced myself and asked them to join. Most of my class said no but three did agree to join, now we just need more, so how do we get them? I tried my best at lunch but the best answer I could get was a maybe, it seems everyone thinks the team is a lost cause and don't want to be part of it. I guess I'll just have to change their minds, I'm sure most will after our first win. The day was going so well until she arrived, someone tapped my shoulder and I turned to see her stood right behind me. A black haired demon with cold blue eyes.

"Can I help you with anything?" I ask turning to face her.

"Do you know who I am?" She asks crossing her arms over her chests.

"Someone who wants to talk to me" I answer making her frown and I think I hear her quietly growl like an animal.

"I am the Student Council President, Ao Asato" She tells me uncrossing her arms, placing her hands on her hips and sticking out her chest like she's trying to look impressive. If she is then she really is failing, miserably. "You should be honoured that I am even speaking to a gaijin like you"

"Is there a point to this?" I ask and again she frowns as she cross her arms back over her chest clearly unhappy that I am not impressed by her. "I have things I need to do"

"Like starting your pathetic club" She replies and is rubs me the wrong way, I love the sport and won't have its name tarnished. "You may have become its leader but you still don't have enough people, it won't be long now until you fail. If it was up to me I would stop you but rules say I can't but I can stop your funding, then even if you did save the team you would have the money to keep it and it will still disband"

"Why would you do that?" I ask with a little anger in my voice, I am working hard to make the team work so her words are really starting to get to me.

"Because the team is a hopeless, they loss bring dishonour to the school every year" She tells me with a grin because she knows she's getting to me. "I will be more than happy when I hear that the team is gone"

"How about a bet then" I say seeing a way out of this, a way to save the team and get more members. "We have a match, if we win the team stays and you won't touch our budget and if we lose then I will disband the club for you and won't try and reform it"

"Why would I agree to that?" She asks sounding interested by my wager but not sold on it.

"Because if we lose it will prove you right about the team, you still have an advantage from what I hear. I am the only person at this school who has any experience in Tankery" I tell her and I see a smile creep onto her face.

"Ok I agree" She says but there's something in her voice that tells me this isn't the end of this. "We will be docking again next week for supplies at the same time as Bonple High School, I will arrange a match with them. It will be a five V five match, first one to loss all their tanks losses"

"Ok" I say before she walks off, our first match is a week away and we only have five member including me.

* * *

The tank shed is in good repair, the doors still open and shut, the roof has no holes in it and all the walls and windows are intact. It would be a good sight but no one is here, the only people that showed up are the tree people from my class, Yura and myself. One crew that's all we have, we better have a good tank because we will need all the help we can get to win this upcoming match. I turn to face the people that turned up, they all look excited and are ready to go. At least we have sprit, if only that alone could win matches. I walk towards the entrance to the shed telling the others to follow, the doors creaks but opens smoothly letting us inside. What we see is great, at least we have something going for us. Inside I see we have seven tanks, they aren't the best tanks in the world but all look like they are in good working order. We have five British tanks, two Crusader III's and three Matilda II's. We also have two American tanks a M3 Stuart and M18 Hellcat. All good tanks, not great but good. I can work with these tanks, we just need the students to crew them. I decide we will take the Hellcat out, we have just enough people to crew it. I open the larger doors to allow the tank to get out and smile, outside I see more people have shown up, there are six of them enough to crew both the Crusaders. I really do smile now, with these three tanks we may have a chance to win this match and keep the team. Unless they aren't here to join us, only one way to find out.

"Hello are you ladies here for Sensha-dou?" I ask walking over to them.

"Yes" One of them replies as the group all look at me. "Sorry we are late we had cleaning duty today"

"Don't worry about it" I say feeling a wave of relief wash over me, we stand a chance after all.

I was right about one thing when I argued and made that wager with the Student Council President, I am the only person at this school who's had any Sensha-dou experience. I had to teach everyone who shown up everything, at least by the end of the day they know the basics. We can drive load and fire the guns, not accurately but at least we can avoid any misfires. But one thing did surprise me though, Yura is a great gunner. She stilled needs a lot of practice but she's a natural, she can tell the range of a target with her bare eyes and instinctively knows how to fire at it. But like everyone else she still needs a lot of practice, so far we can barely hit the targets but at least as the day went on I can see we are improving and I know where we need to improve. More and more I feel my confidence raise as I know we can do this, we can win and keep the Sensha-dou team.

"Good work today girls" I say jumping down from the Hellcat as everyone else exits their tanks. "We still have a long way to go but you all did great for your first time, I plan to keep everyone in the same crews and tanks they are in now. Do any of you have a problem with that?" Everyone remains silent so I continue. "The President has organised a match for us next week, I'm not really sure how to tell you this but you all deserve to know this. If we lose this match then the team won't be around anymore"

"Why we only just started?" Someone calls out.

"I don't know" I tell the team. "I managed to get her to agree to this one match to prove ourselves so we must win this, next week we will be facing Bonple High School and they have us outnumbered. So far we only have three tanks to their five, but don't worry we can still win this. I will make sure we do"

"Your right we can win" Yura says with her voice full of pride "Anyone can win if they give it their all and never give up"

* * *

As we walk home Yura and I are both excited just like the rest of the team, even against and experience team that outnumber us we haven't lost heart and are somehow in greater sprite then I thought possible. Both of us are determined to win, our whole team is. We all want to win and keep the team, the news that we may have to disband has lit a fire in each of us. All we need now is to train hard and come up with a plan, by tonight we will have a plan at least. Yura is coming over to my house so we can make a plan, she has agreed to be my second in command and I know I can trust her to do that job. We stop by Yura's house first to tell her parents what is happening and then head straight over to my house, my mum greats us at the door and I lead Yura all the way up to my room. I still haven't unpacked yet so there are boxes everywhere but at least it's not a total mess, we take a seat at my desk and I quickly get out a note book before we begin.

"Do you know what type of tanks Bonple High School uses?" I ask, I know it's a long shot but if you don't ask you don't get.

"No sorry" Yura answer shaking her head. "I know they use Polish tanks but that it"

"That's good news" I say with a smile. "We should have an advantage in fire power and armour, their numerical advantage should be able to counter that"

"That's good" Yura replies smiling too. "So we should just keep them a distance"

"That's what I was thinking" I tell her. "We keep moving, fire a distance and try not to get surrounded"

"We should focus on shooting practice then" Yura says and I nod. "We should be fine unless they get a lucky shoot"

"All we can do is hope that doesn't happen" I say as I switch my computer on. "Now let's see what tanks we may be up against and what the terrain is like, what's the island called we will be fighting on?"

* * *

The day of the tournament everyone is high spirits but also nervous, everyone is excited for their first match but determined to win this. We have to win this. The ship is just arriving in the port and our tanks are ready to go, the weather is nice and sunny. We have everything we need for a good match. We have done all we can to prepare, our tanks are ready and I've trained the girls crewing them as best I could over the last week. For this match we have a decent team, two Crusader III's and a M18 Hellcat. The other team may have two more tanks then us but after looking up what they could be I am confident their two extra tanks won't make that much of a difference. Our tanks are faster, better armoured and have a much better guns then anything they could have, plus after looking over maps of the battle area I had the tanks painted to help them blind in and thanks to the help of the art club I think they will do just that. The different shades of green is perfect to help us hide in the forests and field that cover this island, it was time consuming but this match is too important for us not to take every advantage we can. The tanks are ready so there is only one thing left to do, get their crews ready for the fight.

"Hey is everyone ready for this?" I call out as the ship comes to a halt.

"Yes!" Everyone shouts back some with their fists in the air, I guess they are already ready for this fight they all sound eager to begin despite their nerves.

"Good" I say with a proud smile on my face, our team may be small but we are willing to take on giants if we have to. "If we stick to the plan we should win this, don't let their numbers scare you and stay focused. If we all do that then we will be celebrating tonight"

"Of course we will win!" Someone shouts out getting a few cheers, I love these girls confidence I can only hope it doesn't get the best of them.

Just as the cheering starts the other ship arrives, it's smaller than our own but somehow more roomer. All the buildings our in the centre of the ship and at ever end of the ship is a large grassy field, the rear field if in rough shape though. It must be were their Sensha-dou team practices because I can see tank tread marks all across the field as well as creators that dot the area. Then I see the enemy tanks, ten 7TP's and six 10TP's neatly lined up. They are the ones we are facing though, those tanks are too dirty and must have been used for training not that long ago. The tanks they have for our match must be elsewhere. Still relaxed I turn my attention away from their ship back to my team, I was about to give the order to move out when a chill goes down my spine. I am glad I get some warning before she arrives, I turn again and this time I see the Student Council President walking towards me looking confident and smug.

"Come to beg me to end this bet?" I ask as she approaches causing her to growl lightly again, is this girl a cat pretending to be a girl? Even the cat my grandmother owned didn't growl as much as her.

"No I was hoping to find that you have come to you senses, that you are ready to bow down to me and admit defeat" She says sounding like she's queen of the world. "But clearly a gaijin like you is too stupid to recognise that she is beaten"

"Well a gaijin like me is about to prove you wrong" I tell her. "We will win this bet and you are going to accept this club"

"We will see about that" She replies as she walks of but before she leaves us she menacingly adds. "Good luck"

* * *

The match is about to begin, our teams stand ready on the felid of battle. Most of the battle area is covered with trees as a large forest takes up most of the arena, several small streams cut through the trees dividing up the area. Nothing to worry about, the forest isn't thick enough to stop our tanks and the streams aren't that deep so we can drive right through them. I like this area, it's easy to hide in and set up ambush. As long as we are careful we can use this area to our advantage, I can only hope the enemy doesn't ambush us first. I look down at my crew to see them all shaking as their excitement wears off and their nervousness takes them over, I've seen it before with new members and experienced it myself when I first started. It's a horrible feeling, knowing any second that someone could shoot you. The tank armour has been strengthened and the shells we fire aren't as powerful as the real shells fired by the military but it's still frightening even I still feel a little nervous, experience is the best way to cure their fear so hopefully after today if we win that fear will start to disappear.

"Don't worry" I tell everyone in my tank. "I've been doing this for years and the worst injury I have seen is a few cuts and bruises" That's a lie, the worst injury I have seen is a broken arm. But that was the injured person's own fault, he was showing off and throw his arm out of the tanks hatch at the wrong time. One low branch, a speeding tank and that's all it took. I can't tell them that though, I need them calm for the match. My reassurance seems to be working, I can see everyone start to calm down and I can barely notice their shaking. "They wouldn't let us do this if it wasn't safe"

"We know that but…" Yura says fiddling with her shirt. "But I still can't help but imagen it"

"I know, everyone does at first" I gently reply putting a hand on her should. "I still do, it gets easy but you will think that every time. Only the crazy won't think that"

"Match start" The announcer calls out, I feel a smile form on my lips as I hear those word. Let's do this, let's win this and keep the team. I pick up the radio so the other two tanks can her me.

"All tanks move out" I order as the engines of our tanks roars into life. "Follow our lead and keep an eye out for the enemy, this terrain means they can easily ambush us"

I feel our tank start to move forward gentle picking up the pace until we reach a nice cursing speed, we head straight ahead straight for the woods in front of us. It's easy to swerve around the trees and the small bumps and hills pose no problems for us, our tanks just keep advancing no mater wants in front of us. After a few minutes I order a turn to the left, our team's lack of experience shows here. I stand so I am half out of the hatch and look to see our messy turn, both the crusaders fall out of formation with the lead tank and our tank nearly crashes into a large oak tree only missing it by breaking hard and coming to a halt less than a meter away. I sigh as we move back into formation, this mess up cost us time and with the noise we made correcting it may have given away our position. At least we recover quickly, I can only hope we make it there in time. There's a hill in the centre of the battle area, if we can get their before the enemy then we can snipe them before we come into range of their guns. But now they might reach that hill first or move out of range of it so the position will be useless to us, I can only hope we make it in time and my plan can still work.

"I can see something on the left" The Crusader on the left calls out, I look right away but can't see anything.

"Where a bout's on the left?" I ask still looking to see what their tank saw.

"By the willow tree, I saw something flash like the sun hitting metal" The same person answers, I train my vision on that tree and see it. Like she said it's a flash of metal being hit by sunlight but something about it seems odd, it looks like.

"Enemy tank on the left! Crusader One take it out!" I shout as I see a barrel of a gun sticking out of the bushes. "Crusader Two scan the right, Yura scan the front"

I watch the Crusader fire but they miss, there shell smashes into the truck of the willow tree covering the enemy tank with bark but failing to do any damage. Then I see a flash as the enemy tank returns fire blowing the tracks off of my tank, my tank grind to a halt and the two Crusaders stop beside us. Then more shells rain down on us, all miss but they shake the ground and kick dirt up into the sky. Now I see we have been ambushed, all fire enemy tanks emerge from the bushes. They have us surrounded and are moving in for the kill, they have us at their mercy. The ground shakes as shells start to land all around us, even inside my tank I can fell the vibrations caused by the impacting shells. All around me my crew is scared. I can see it in their eyes when they look at me waiting to be told want to do next, I can see it as their bodies shake when they are completing the orders I give and I can hear it in their voices as they talk. This is their first match, their first battle. I didn't have enough time to prep them, I needed more time. But she wouldn't allow it, for some reason that girl is hell bent on stopping me from reforming the Sensha-do team. But I can't think of that now, I need to get my team through this match. Another shell hits us, this one glances off our armour but the horrible sound of metal on metal sends a screech through the tank that makes everyone stop and cover their ears. We can't stop firing, we can't move and we are outnumbered. What do we do? How can we get out of this? "Come one you're supposed to be the leader of this team" I remind myself as I think. What do we do?

"Return fire, all tanks fire at will!" I quickly shout out as more shells land around us, we all open fire but all miss. "Stay calm we can do this, they aren't close enough yet to knock us out. We can knock them out, all we have to do is knock them out before they close in and take us out"

"Crusader on took a hit!" Someone calls out. "They lost their track too but can still fire!"

"Stay calm" I calmly tell everyone making sure my radio is on so the other team can hear me. "If we stay calm and don't panic we can do this, the enemy is right they we can take them out and win this" We fire again this time Yuri hits one of their 7TP's and knocking it out getting a round of cheering from our crew. "Good shot" I tell her before speaking to the rest of the team. "See that? We can bet them, that's one down. We still have four to go but we can do this, we can win this so don't give up"

We fire again missing all but one of our shoots which blows the tracks off of the 10TP, great their best tank is disabled and its weapon can't touch us at this range. We fire again just as more shells hit us sending more screeches as the round glance off of our armour, I can never get used to that sound and always hated it. We fire and fire and fire some more, most of our shoots mess but we take out the tracks of another 7TP and take out the 10TP. Three on three, we can do this. The enemy tanks keep charging like berserkers knowing they can only hit us at close range, they fire wildly as they charge. They must be pushing their tanks to the limit because the smoke from their engines is thick and the dirt they kick up starting to paint the jungle with its colour, come on if they keep this up they will be right up on us and able to take us out. I order to fire at the two charging tanks and to ignore the damaged one, that's no threat to us at this range. The one's charging are the real threat, the damage they will do if they close the distance could cost us the match. So I order my whole team to fire on them, all three of our tanks fire at once at the closest enemy tank. Surprisingly all three of us hit the tank, our shells hit it with such a combined force that the tank actually moves back despite the speed it was charging towards us with. One down one to go. The last mobile enemy tank fires and we fire back, our shell hits the 7TP's turret knocking it out leaving only one disabled enemy tank left.

"Crusader Two is hit" The tank commander of that take reports. "Our guns been taken out but we are fine, my glasses broke but we are unharmed"

"Good, sorry about your glasses but at least you are unharmed" I reply before I look over to the enemy tank and shout. "Do you want to call the match here, I don't think you can win at that range" I get an answer with the thunder of a gunshot, their shell harmlessly bounces off of my tanks armour but their reply is clear. "We will not surrender" I have to admit I admire and respect that crew, very few people will carry on fighting in their situation. "Yura take them out they aren't giving up"

"Ok" Yura says as she starts to aim the gun, she fires and I watch the round hit the enemy tank in the turret knocking it out.

"Good shooting" I say patting her on the back as I sink down onto the commander's seat.

"Match over, winner Koala Forest High School" The announcer announces being an end to the battle and causing our whole team to cheer and hug each other.

"Good job everyone" I say over the radio before I join in the celebration.

* * *

Yura and I are watching the tanks as they are towed back to the ship for repairs, each of them showing the scares of the battle as their nice new paint job is scratched and chipped. I hope the art club won't kill us for wreaking their hard or, or for asking them to do it again so soon. This battle was hard fought and well won, the enemy put up a good fight and fought to the last tank. They may have had weak guns and armour but they really came at us hard and had me worried that they could beat us at one point, I can't help but respect them for doing so well with so little. I smile as we watch the tanks head off on their journey back to the ship, we won and get to keep our team. But someone I know won't be happy, as if on cue I feel a chill run down my spine which is becoming all too family and turn round to see the Student Council President storming towards us looking really mad.

"I hope you are happy" She says staring daggers of hatred into my eyes. "You won the right to have your team"

"And you won't interfere?" I ask making sure I hear she will keep up her end of the bargain.

"Of course a deals a deal" She says sounding as if the words leaving her mouth is going to make her sick. "But if you bring any more dishonour to the team like the last members did then I will make your life a living hell"

With that she storms off not giving me a chance to reply, Yura and I just look at each other and all I can think of to say is. "I guess we have to keep on winning"

"And become like our ships name" Yura replies with a smile. "Invincible"

"Invincible, that will be good" I say as we are suddenly surrounded by girls from our school, I look over the crowd and see about ten girls before I calmly and kindly ask them. "Can I help you?"

"We want to join the Sensha-dou team" One of them says.

"Yeah you guys were so cool out there" Another says.

"More than cool!" Someone shouts out.

"Welcome to the team" I say, I can tell with these new members we will go far this year. With this our team can grow and we can compete without being outnumbered, we can do well in the Sensha-dou tournament. We may not win but we can do well and have fun, that's the most important part having fun.

* * *

**AN**

* * *

Just to let you know about the school I am using in this story, Koala Forest High School.

Their name appears on the team roster during the competition. Their team captain drew 2 as their position. Koala Forest High is likely an Australian and/or New Zealand themed school and would likely use a mix of US and British tanks. Koala Forest Academy: Australia themed academy; defeated by Viking Marine in the first round. Their ship's name is Invincible.

I plan to have the school continue to use tanks from Britain and America.

I hope you enjoy, please favourite, follow and review so I know what is going wrong with this story and what is going right.


	2. Chapter 2

I wake up before dawn as the waves gentle rock the ship from side to side, not long after we set sail after our victory yesterday a bad storm hit several miles to the north and the waves the wind made are still hitting our ship. They aren't as bad as last night at least, the ship was thrown from side to side so violently by the huge waves that I thought the ship like its name Invincible, but after several hours the waves receded leaving only me sick and my room a mess. I had just finished unpacking the night before too, I finally had the room as I wanted it and that storm went and ruined it. Why does god hate me? I woke up tired and wanting to go back to sleep but my father won't let me, he used to be a medic in the army and runs our family like the military runs. We wake up on time, follow orders and are in bed by lights out. I'm used to it but after nights like last night I hate it, I groggily get up, pull on my dressing gown and head down stairs towards the smell of breakfast. Judging from the smell we are having a full English breakfast, when I enter the kitchen my eyes confirm what my nose smelled as I see my mum dish up three full English breakfast's.

"Good morning dear" My mum says as I sit down.

"Morning" I mumble back looking around to see no signs of my father anywhere. "Where's dad?"

"He got a call early this morning, an elderly lady fell over last night and he went to give her a check-up" My mother tells me as she joins me at the table. "He has several other people to check too so we won't see him until he has finished for the day, do you have any plans for today?"

"I am meeting Yura at ten" I answer, school isn't on today or tomorrow which I am grateful for because if it was on I might have fallen asleep in class today because of last night. "She said she will give me a tour of the ship"

"That's good" My mother tells me. "It's nice to see you making friends so quickly"

"I had friends before mum" I point out, I had too, not many but they were good friends.

"I know but it took you nearly a year to make them" Mother reminds me, it may have took a while. Most people my age avoided me because I was a "Tank Nut" as they called me, it was only after I joined our schools Sensha-do team that I made friends. My tank crew became my best friends and like a second family to me, I miss them and wish I could be with them right now but at least things are different here. I have a friend Yura Ishihara and I am the Commander of the Koala Forest High School Sensha-do team, I may be an outsider but most people has accepted me here. "Here it took you only ten minutes"

I finish eating breakfast before I go back upstairs to shower and get dressed, I still got two hours till I have Yura In the main market of the ship so I just pick up my history book from school and get a start on my homework. Yura's family runs a market stall so she has to help them set up but afterwards she agreed to meet up with me, I'm a little nervous about meeting her family but it's not like we are dating or anything so they won't be too hard on my or unfriendly.

* * *

Several hours later and with my homework complete I leave my house and head for the market, I know the way since I have to pass through it on my way to school and I guess Yura knows the short cuts to the school she showed me because she works there. I step out onto the street which is still damp from the rain that came with the storm, we were really lucky to only get hit by the edge of it. I can't imagen what would have happened to the ship if it was right in the heart of it, just being on the edge made me sink and left me in fear that the ship would sink. Hopefully we won't experience another one any time soon, hopefully I can sleep safely at night. I walk down the street hoping over the deeper puddles and watching the birds fly overhead in the blue sunny skies, looking up its like look at a completely different world. The blue sunny sky and the few white fluffy clouds show no signs of the sky which rained down onto the ship and blow us about last night, at least this will mean we are free from the storm.

The market is only a five minute walk from my house, it's busy despite the water logged area where it stands. The people here seem to be fine with it, I guess storms like the one last night happen from time to time. I walk deeper into the market walking through the stalls which see all kinds of things from fruit to fish, from clothes to the materials from which they are made. Anything you could possible want they sell it here and by the looks of it at a good price, I am still not used to using Japanese Yen but from what I can tell it is a good place to shop for good products sold at a good price. I walk deeper into the market hearing the people barter and make deals for whatever they need and feeling at home, my dorm room at the school I attended back in England had a market right outside so every morning I would wake up to the sounds of trading. I feel even more at home here since everyone is so friendly, they smile and nod at me and a few even stop what they are doing to congratulate me on our schools team recent victory.

I walk further and further into the market and finally find who I am looking for, I spot Yura talking to an older looking version of herself. She spots me as I approach her and smiles, the girl too turns and looks giving me a warm smile. She is like an older version of Yura, she has the same black hair only hers is longer going down to her waste and blowing gentle in the wind, the same face and smile, the only difference is that her eyes are a beautiful blue like the sea water around the ship unlike the green emeralds Yura has for eyes. As I get closer she stretches out her arm and I take it, as we shake hands she is the first to speak.

"You must be Lynne Yura has told me all about you" She says in a sweet voice. "I'm Kyoko Ishihara Yura's older sister and the cutest one in our family"

"It's nice to meet" I reply as she lets my hand go.

"Thank you for making Yura happy" She tells me and I can see Yura blush a bit out of the corner of my eyes. "She's been smiling a lot more since you two met"

"Sis" Yura mummers looking down and gently pushing her sister.

"Ok I'll leave you two to yourselves" She says with a smile patting Yura's head. "Have fun"

"Bye" Yura says as her sister starts to leave.

"It was nice meeting you" I say.

"It was nice meeting you too" Kyoko replies as she continues to walk away. "Goodbye"

"She always treats me like a little kid" Yura complains once her sister is out of ear shot.

"That's what sisters do" I tell her. "All older sisters and brother tease their siblings" I smile at the memories that made me glad I was an only child, memories like my friend's older brothers and sisters reviling secrets about them, like the jokes they played and the nicknames they gave out which made people laugh and the younger siblings embarrassed. "If I was your sister I think I would have done the same"

"I guess" Yura replies shaking her head. "Shell we get going then"

* * *

The ship was bigger than I thought, it over four hours to tour it and by the end my feet hurt and my stomach angrily growled demanded to be fed. Yura just laughed at me as I rubbed the back of my head and said. "I guess I must be hungry" Before lightly laughing myself.

"I know just the place" Yura tells be leading me towards a building which has sandbags set up around the building and a camo net spread across it with an open cut through around the entrance to allow people in and out. What is this building? Why is Yura taking me here? These questions fill my mind as Yura leads me into the building, once inside they are quickly answered. It's a café like the coffee shops back home only this one is tank themed and the wait staff are all dressed like world war two soldiers. "Places like this are common on Carry ships, the food is good and cheap and most students eat here"

"We had them back in Britain too, but people who went in them was called freaks" I tell her as we find an empty booth. "And this place seems a lot nicer than those were"

"I'm glad you think so" A familiar voice says, both Yura and I look up to see the loader from our tank dressed like a Second World War British soldier. "My family runs this restaurant"

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it as a complaint it was more like a compliant" I tell her and she just smiles.

"I know you did anyway" She replies before saluting us. "I am Misato Oishi here to serve you, what will you two be having today. I recommend today's special, it's a chocolate cake of the desert core and is half price and been greatly praised"

"Ok I'll have that" I say and Misato takes out a note pad and to write it down. "And a coke please"

"I'll have the same please" Yura says putting down the menu.

"You food will be dispatched shortly" Misato says and with one more salute she walks off.

"I always come here to eat, my sister used to always take me every weekend when we were younger" Yura tells me as we turn back to face each other.

"I used to go to the one back in Britain with the members of my tank crew every Friday after practice, the owner was a nice old man but a terrible cleaner so the place used to be filthy all the time" I say remembering the rubbish littered floor and food stained tables and chairs, it was a miracle that place wasn't condemned or shut down by an inspector. "But he was kind and always put up with use no matter how loud we were or how much of a mess we were making, no matter what we did he would always smile at us and welcome us warmly every Friday"

"He sounds nice" Yura replies with a small smile that was warm at first then it turned into one that made me worry, one that made it look like she knows something. "But from what you said, doesn't that make you partly to blame for the mess"

"Partly" I tell her. "Partly, we just added to. I think it has been piling up since before I was even born"

Just as I say that our chocolate cakes arrived but not by Misato's hands or by the hands of another member of staff here, it arrives on the back of a small truck. I have to blink several times before I can believe, I have never seen food delivered to a table like this ever. The truck looks just like the one that transfers damaged tanks back to their ships and the cakes, the cakes looks like tanks and are riding on the trailers. I wonder how they did it, they made the cakes look just like the Hellcat I rode during our match. I guess this special is this cafes way of celebrating our team's victory. Yura and I take our plates off of the trailers before the truck does a three sixty and heads back the way it came from.

"Do they always serve food like this here?" I ask as I watch the truck disappear into a small tunnel carved into the wall.

"Only for the booths" Yura answers before taking a bite of her cake. I decide to save my other questions for later and follow her lead, I cut into the cake with my fork which feels like a crime to destroy something so beautiful. I bite into and can't help but say.

"Delicious" As soon as I swallow the piece in my mouth.

"I'm glad you like it" Misato says as she brings our drinks over.

* * *

About an hour later Yura and I are walking home feeling satisfied with the delicious tasting cakes we ate, Misato's mother was so nice she took the drinks off of our bill and congratulated me on mine and my teams win. She even said it was good that I saved the team, people here all seem to be happy that the team won a match. It seems they haven't won in years, I wonder when their last win was? It must have been some time ago, no one I asked could tell me. Some said the team on a few small matches but never a major one in years. I'm hoping to change that, maybe not a win but better than before. If we can get past the first round of the National High School Sensha-Dou Tournament it will be good enough, from there we can take it step by step. To be honest I don't care where we place, as long as everyone has fun I would be happy coming dead last. Not saying that I won't give it my all though, I will be trying my hardest to win until the end. I know if we work hard, train hard and fight hard we can do well, as long as we don't give up. We reach our street when we notice something, there's a man in a jump suit about to go up to my house but when he spots us he changes direction and head straight for us. He's wearing the same jumpsuit that all the maintenance workers wear but he's young only just out of school by the looks of him and defiantly a westerner like I am, he has short brown hair which has traces of grease in it and a young face with a small scare on his forehead. As he gets closer I notice his eyes are a grey and seem to sparkle, he really is handsome. Not that I care or anything I am not interested him in at all, when he gets close enough to speak he voice sounds as good as he looks.

"Hey are you Lynnette Bishop?" He asks as he approaches.

"Yes" I say wondering what he could want with me.

"I'm Alex Webb I work in the ships main warehouse" He tells me as he hands me a clipboard. "The last Commander of the Sensha-Dou team had us store some of the team's tanks when their numbers dropped, I need you to sign this so that the tanks are transferred to you"

"Really what tanks do you have in storage?" I ask as I read over the paper and sign my name. "Anything good?"

"I don't know" he replies as I hand him back the clipboard. "I can show you if you want"

"Ok lead on" I say and embarrass myself right away by stumbling and falling right into him. I land face first into his rock hard chest and when his arms wrap around me to steady me I can feel their power, he's hiding some muscles under this jumpsuit. "Sorry"

"It's ok" He tells me as I step away. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine I just slipped" I quickly answer before laughing it off. "So can you show me the tanks?"

"Ok follow me" He says as he begins to lead on, I follow lose behind with Yura.

"When's the wedding?" Yura quietly asks as we walk so that… What his name? Alex that's it… Alex can't hear.

"Shut up" I tell her feeling my checks starting to burn as a blush takes hold on my face.

Alex takes us deep into the heart of the ship too where everything is stored, the journey isn't that long as one of the massive elevators built to move aircraft to the flight deck when this ship was still an active warship. Now it's just used to move supplies from storage to the residents above, it can easily lift one of the small supply trucks used on board this ship even if it's fully laden with supplies. We all easily fit onto the lift even though we share it with two of those trucks, at least it will make getting these tanks out of here easier. Once the elevator is down we step off and Alex leads to a row of crates near the elevator. They all range in sizes so it looks like we will have a selection, I just hope we get something good.

"Are these the tanks you were on about?" I ask him as we reach the crates.

"Yes, I'll grab a crowbar and open them up" He says reaching behind a nearby smaller crate and retrieving a crowbar. "Afterwards you can ever keep them her or choose to have them shipped to wherever you want"

Alex starts to open up the crates and I am impressed and what we have, inside the crates is another M3 Stuart, two M3 Grant's, two Sentinel AC-1's and an Sentinel AC-IV . All the tanks look like they are in good working order, apart from the Sentinel AC-IV . The Sentinel AC-IV looks like it's been to hell and back, the right track has been blow to pieces and as I walk around it I can see a hole has been blown straight through the engine. It is going to take a lot of work and time to get it ready for battle, maybe it will just be easy to see for scrape and by upgrades and spare parts for the other tanks. But then I get an offer I could refuse or believe, it has to be said twice before I even believe it.

"I said I can fix up the Sentinel AC-IV for you" Alex says as I look at him blinking in disbelief, once he knows I am paying attention to him he continues. "There's spare parts in the crate with the tank and I am a qualified mechanic"

"So but let me know if you need anything else" I say accepting the offer.

"I don't know when it will be ready by" He tells me as we shake hands concluding the deal, I was right he is strong I can feel it in his hand. "I'll have the rest of the tanks sent to the teams shed then"

"Sure" I nod.

* * *

After school the next school day Yura and I are happy and in good spirts, the whole school likes us now. No loves us. The whole day everyone was congratulating us teachers and students alike, never did I expect such a big deal be made over a small win. I guess that the team and school really needed this win, that after years without one they were desperate for a victory no matter how small. But my happiness may be short lived as I and Yura are heading straight to the Principles Office, he asked to see us after school. I can't be in trouble, I haven't done anything wrong. Unless the great Student Council President has broken her promise and decided to interfere but I don't think so, she seems to care about honour so it's unlikely she has gone back on her word. So why does he want to see me? Yura walks with me at first but I send off to the tank sheds so she could get the new crews into their tanks and give them a quick run through off the rules, I should be there by the time she's done that, so by the time I reach his office I am alone and nervous. I knock his door and enter when he says I can, I step into a small office with a bookshelf along one wall and a large image of the ship on the other, at the far end of the room is an oak desk with two comfy chairs on myside and a larger more comfortable looking chair on another side with the Principle sat in it. He's an old man with grey hair, pale blue eyes like he's blind but a warm a friendly smile. I am still nervous as I take a seat at his desk but that smile has calmed me down, maybe I am not in trouble after all.

"It's nice to meet you Miss Bishop and you can relax you're not in trouble" He tells me, his voice is strange, it's both kind, warm and strict at the same time. "I wanted to talk to you about the Sensha-do team" He isn't going to shut us down is he, he can't not after all the hard work I've put into saving it. "I need to tell you that the draw for the National High School Sensha-Dou Tournament is next month, as the team Commander you will need to attended"

"Ok" I say forcing myself not to sigh in relief, he's not shutting the team down.

"Also I wanted to speak to you about the team, what is you honest opinion of the current team?" He asks me.

"Well to be honest we are still rough around the edges but show promise, Yura is a good gunner for example and if she works hard she could be the best I have ever seen" I answer honestly, I need him on my side to keep the team so I can't lie to him. "We lack experience though, I'm the only one on the team with any"

"How would you feel about some help?" He inquires. "Mr Okamoto could be of help, he used to be a member of the school team several years ago and severed in the Self Defence Force as a tank commander"

"I would appreciate the help" I reply feeling that an extra person helping to train the new recruits will be a great help.

"Ok, I'll speak to him" He tells me with a smile.

* * *

A month later the team is ready, thanks massively to the help of Mr Okamoto we are ready for this year's National High School Sensha-Dou Tournament, most of the girls on my team may still be rookies and have a few rough edges but they are ready. We are ready. So with a great confidence I walk up to the stage and draw our team's number, number eight. I hear a loud confident laugh and follow it to its source, a small girl the same size as Yura sat on a taller girls soldiers. I then look up to the large screen and see who we are up against, Pravda Girls High School. Maybe this year's tournament may not be as easy as I hoped, what are the chances of facing a tough team in the first round.


	3. Chapter 3

Everything is silent, no birds sing, no person speaks and the leaves don't even rustle in the gentle wind that wraps around my body. The only sound that reaches my ears is the gentle roar of engines which I feel vibrate through me. My heart is pounding in my chest, we have done all we can but now we are here. I am starting to feel nervous and doubts start to enter my mind, we are facing a strong powerful opponent who's experienced and deadly. I want to win but, I'm not sure we can. We have an equal number of tanks, ten each. But their crews have more experience and more training then ours do. As I stand in my tank half out of the hatch feeling the wind gentle stroke my body with soft hands and my heart pound in my chest like it's trying to escape I look around, at least the battle area doesn't give their team an advantage. But we can't take one ever. We are in a wide valley with tall cliffs ever side that tower into the clouds and a large deep river running through the middle, there are only three bridges that we can use and they are far apart and the approaches to them will leave any tank exposed. The weather is good at least, the sun is nice and warm today as it hangs high in the sky, white fluffy clouds float smoothly across the sky and the wind is so gentle you can barely feel it.

Once I get my bearings I look to our tanks, all neatly lined up ready for battle. I'm again in the Hellcat which will also be our flag tank, next to us on the right is the M3 Stuart. I brought to scout, it won't last long in a fight against our enemy tanks but if it can guide us to them then our other tanks can fight them. On our left is the M3 Grant, I only brought one of our two Grants because of our lack of members to crew them. The other tanks we have brought are two Crusader III's, two Sentinel AC I's and three Matilda II's. Our team members are as ready as we could make them in the short time before our match, Mr Okamoto and I trained them hard and taught them all we could. But here and now I am starting to worry and think that all of it was for nothing, a strong team like the one we are up against can turn all that hard work to dust under the trends of their tanks. Our opponent is Pravda Girls High School they operates Soviet World War Two tanks including T-34/76s, T-34/85s, KV-2 and IS-2 as while of a terrify range of other armoured vehicles. Last year they made it to the semi-finals and the year before that they won the national tournament. I can only hope that they left their heavy armour at home to save them for later, but their school seems to use strength so you can bet that they have some heavy armour out their today.

"Match start" The announcer calls out beginning the battle, I take a deep breath and prepare myself for the battle to come.

"All tanks advance" I order dropping back down into the commander's seat.

Our tank start to move gradually picking up speed until we reach a nice cruising speed that all our tanks can match, everyone is silent so all I can hear is the engine roar and the tracks turn. The quiet is nice but I wish someone would talk to break it, the longer this silence continues the tenser and more scared I feel. I have our tank take lead and the rest follow us in a wedge formation, the dirt kicked up from our tanks can be seen for miles and will give away our position soon. But I have a plan, there's an area we can hide for now until we find the enemy tanks. It's hidden and we can see anyone approach from miles away, it's a circle of hills that should hide us from the enemy. As I look around my tank I see everyone is just as nervous as I am, Yura is trying to fight it by keeping herself busy with her eyes staring down the main guns sights, Misato I can see tapping her feet on the ground and the other two members of my crew, are driver Yukari Takano and the girl who operates the radio when I don't Hana Kuba I can't see any signs but I can feel how nervous they are. Everyone is admitting that feeling even myself, its filling the tank and it has to go. It's making the atmosphere in here tense and must be stopped, so looking around my tank and think of how to stop it and calm everyone's nerves.

"It will be ok" I tell my crew looking at each and every one of them. "We will be ok, the tanks are designed to take the hits we may take. None of you will be harmed I give you my word, sure some of you my get some scratches and bruises but nothing serious if you are worrying about being injured out here today" it works a little I can feel it in the air but that tense feeling isn't gone completely from out tank yet. "If it's the enemy tanks your worried about don't be, we are evenly matched in terms of numbers. They may have more training and they may have more experience but we can still beat them, just stick to the plan and work together. Then we will beat them and be national champions before you know it"

"But we are up against Pravda's Soviet Steel" our loader says still slightly scared but not as badly as she was before. "Most of our tanks can't beat their armour"

"And that's where skill and tactics come, we will beat them we will find a way to win this" I reply and she nods convinced we are going to be victorious, now back to the battle. "Send our Stuart out to scout, everyone else hold position and await further orders"

I watch from the top of my tank as the Stuart moves out climbing over the hills that surround and protect us hopping it won't be spotted, the Stuart won't stand a chance if it is. The M3 Stuart only has a 37 mm Gun which isn't the worse gun in the world but combined with its thin armour makes it vulnerable the steel of the Red armour tanks we are facing. At least because of its weakness it has speed, the Hellcat I command is the only one of our tanks that's faster. So scouting is the best it can do right now, with its small size it can remain hidden from the enemy and with its speed it can out run them. I silently wish them good luck and for their safe return as I watch them disappear over the hill, now we wait, now we prepare and now we hope. Wait for news, prepare for battle and hope for victory, it's all we can do now. Nothing more nothing less, just wait, prepare and hope. Everyone turns off their engines so all I can here is the gentle purr of the Stuart's engine disappear as it drives further and further away, I really hope they ever make it back or at the very least find the enemy flag tank.

"Why are we only sending the Stuart out?" I look around and see the source of the question, it's from a giant of a girl who's sat on top of her tanks turret. Lian Lang a Chinese exchange student who's overly aggressive, she's a good leader but too aggressive for her own good. "We should just attack with all our might"

"If we all had heavy German tanks, Tigers, Panthers, King Tigers or better then yes, I say we should attack but with our tank force that will only lead to defeat" I answer before someone agrees with her and I have a mutiny on my hands and a rapid defeat minutes later. "We need to find the enemy and destroy them, to do that we need knowledge. We need to know where they are going, their numbers and tanks before we go attacking" My words work, she no longer says she wants to attack but her body language says she is itching for a fight. "But you can lead the first attack group when we find them"

"I'll hold you to that" She replies with a smile so bright it could replace the sun, she must really love fighting to be that happy. I just hope she's god at it.

"This is the Stuart tank come in" I over hear so I drop down into my turret to see Hana picking up the radio to respond.

"Lead tank here we hear you" Hana answers, hopefully we have their flag tanks location. Hana listens before turning to me. "Lynne they spotted three enemy tanks moving across a field a thousand meters to the North West"

"What type of enemy tanks?" I ask and Hana relays my question.

"Three T-34's" Hana replies, I guess that's the best answer I can hope for.

"Ok have Lian take her tank and both of the Sentinel's move to engage the enemy's front, I also want both our Crusader to move and attack the enemy flank" I order hopping to knock them tanks out of the game without losing a tank on our side but, that may be too much to hope for. "Everyone else is to hold position and stay on standby"

Hana relays my orders and soon the air is filled with the roaring sounds of our tanks engines and the ground starts to vibrate like we are having a small earthquake as our tanks start to move. I watch as our tanks move out turning the grassy hills hiding us into a muddy wasteland as their tracks tear into the landscape, we won't be able to stay here for much longer. The muddy track marks can be seen for miles away and that latest roar from our engines would only draw the enemy eyes to those marks, as soon as those tanks have been taken out we need to regroup and relocate.

I decide I can't just sit in my tank and wait, I decide to try and see what I can from this ring off hills hiding our position. So I grab a pair of binoculars and climb up the hill, at the top the track marks make a great hiding place where I can watch the action from. I can see them but it's still hard to make out even with binoculars, I can see the two Sentinel's and the M3 Grant come to a halt before they open fire. The thunder from their guns sounds like thuds from my position as they open fire beginning the battle for real, their shells land all around the enemy tanks but all miss. The enemy T-34's return the favour but like our own tanks they all miss only kicking up the dirt around the tanks, now the two Crusader's begin their attack bursting onto the enemy flank guns blazing. They first volley misses only covering them in dirt as their shells explode around them, the second volley is much better, three shells smash into the hull of one of the T-34's knocking it out while the rest just kick up the dirt. The enemy starts to pull back while returning fire but their shells miss, as do our own as our tanks start to give chase. But then a louder boom echoes through the battle area, even at the distance I am its deafening.

As I look on stunned at what just happened I see one of our Crusader's start to smoke as it comes to a halt, its white flag deploys showing it's knocked out. But what did it, the Soviet Union did put some big guns on their tanks so the list is rather long. Then I see them two more T-34's and more worriedly an IS-2 with the barrel of its gun still smoking. Could they have laid a trap? Or is it just that those tanks where in the right place at the right time? It doesn't matter now, what matters is getting my tanks out of their and to safety before we loss any more. We have no choice, with that IS-2 there we are at a disadvantage. The Crusader tanks we have left knows this already and tries to escape, it fires knocking out one of the charging T-34's but that loud bang sounds again. With a flash from the IS-2's barrel that Crusader too is knocked out. Two for two, we can take those losses. But our remaining tanks need to escape, we can't lose them is well.

I look down to my tank and see Yura looking at me worried about what was making those loud booms, I have no radio on me so I shout at her. "Order our tanks to pull back!"

"On it!" Yura shouts back before she drops back into the turret to relay my orders. I wonder how someone as small as her could look out of my turret, ever she stood on her tiptoes on my seat or was holding herself up. I can't think about that now though, I need to lead my team.

I watch as the Sentinel's and the M3 Grant start to revers well still returning fire but they are taking a lot in reply, the air around their tanks is filled with dirt kicked up by the countless shells exploding around them. But now disaster strikes again, it really was a trap and those original three T-34's were the bait. Two more T-34's arrive attack their rear and blocking my tanks escape, the need help fast or they will be wiped out. Again I shout down to give my orders.

"Yura!" I call out as once again Yura appears through the tank hatch but this time just her head and shoulders appear. "Have the Matilda's charge the T-34's between us and the rest of the team and bring our tank up to my position"

Yura relays my orders and our tanks roar into life, the Matilda's race past me heading straight into the fight well my tank gentle approaches me coming to a halt right beside me. "What's happening?" Yura asks as I jump into the tank. "Are we losing?"

"Not yet" I tell her. "Keep an eye out for any more tanks"

I stand up and watch the battle again just as I get my binoculars onto the battlefield I watch an enemy shell hit the side of one of our Sentinel's armour knocking it out, we need to get them out. Now. But now our Matilda's arrive just in the nick of time, the enemy doesn't spot them and our newly arrived tanks get the drop on them. The Matilda's fire luckily they hit first time knocking out both T-34's blocking the escape, our formally trapped tanks waste no time and don't miss this opportunity quickly escape while the Matilda's cover them. Once they are safely away the Matilda's turn and follow fleeing the area at top speed but it's not fast enough, one more loud bang and followed by the smoke rising from one of our tanks tells me all I need to know. I don't even have to wait and see if that tank is knocked out, I know it is even before the white flag is deployed. The Matilda's who bravely and skilfully rescued our trapped team mates has lost one of their own, I can only hope that the tanks sacrifice won't come and haunt us later on. Our tanks join mine on the hill where I watch and see the enemy tanks waiting back at the battle area most likely for new orders, we need to leave and come up with a plan to take out that IS-2. With that gone we can handle the T34's, then all that's left is their flag tank which still hasn't made an appearance.

"All tanks are to follow the flag tanks lead" I order before telling my driver. "Head to the back-up spot"

The back-up spot is a large hill about six miles east from our current position, it should be safe and give us a good defensive position. We need to fight there, dig in our tanks, let them come in close then take them out. Just like how the Soviet tanks fought the Nazi tanks. It could work no will work, from up there we can fire down on their weak top armour and knock them out. Hopefully we can be in a position where we are too high for them to shoot back, so high that their guns can aim high enough and we get a lot of free shots at them. So with that hope and plan I order my tanks there hoping we can make it in time to dig in, we travel at the fastest speed we can without leaving a tank behind to reach it. We have to get there quick, speed is the key to this plan and will be what gives us the time we need to dig in.

"Can we beat a tank like that?" Our loader Misato asks sounding scared.

"We will find a way" I tell her with the best comforting smile I can muster.

"Yeah with skill and tactics remember" Yura adds with her own smile.

"We may have taken some losses but we have given them as good as we got" I say as we approach the hill. "We just need to hit them before they hit us, once those tanks are gone it's just us, their flag tank and whatever tank they have protecting it"

"How do you know there's only one tank guarding their flag tank?" Yura asks.

"Because I counted" I answer. "The tanks we just engaged was the majority of their force, leaving only their flag tank plus the other one to guard it"

"So they tried to take us out in one move?" Misato questions not quiet believing it.

"Yes" I tell her. "They underestimated us, that girl laughing at the draw thought we would be an easy win for them"

"And we just proved them wrong" Hana says sounding happy with the thought.

"Yes and now we will make them pay for it" I tell my crew. "We will take out these tanks and then their flag tank, afterwards we can celebrate"

We approach the hill, it's tall and wide but flat on top and the slopes are the perfect place to dig in out tanks. From here we can meet and defeat the enemy, then that girl who laughed at us won't be laughing anymore. I circle around the hill with are teams tank following, it will be dangerous to climb the hill from the side we approached it from. That IS-2 can snipe us with clear shots at the top armour of our tanks as we climb, so circling to the back of the hill is the best and only good option we have. As we round the side I send the Stuart off to another nearby hill to act as a look out, we can do this, with this hill we can defeat the enemy and go on to win this match. But a loud bomb followed by a shaking through the ground that causes my stomach to flip destroys that thought, I quickly get up and look around to see we are in trouble. I see the Stuart on fire with its white flag deployed and but behind it is what scares me, through the smoke of the fire I see the IS-2 with the three T-34's that survived the battle charging towards us at top speed. I didn't think they would get her so fast, what do we do? We can't climb the hill, we won't make it in time. If we try to then by the time we are in position then the enemy tanks would be too close for the plan to work, we can't run there's nothing but open flat land as all around us which will leave us exposed to that deadly IS-2 and its powerful gun.

"The enemy is here!" Hana yells out panicked.

"Calm down we can beat them" I tell her as I drop back down into the turret, I have a plan. "Have the Matilda's and Sentinel move off to attack the enemy flank, I want the Grant to follow us. Yukari take us behind the hill in a zigzag move, if we are knocked out its all-over"

I watch as my orders are given over the radio and followed by the tank crews, the Grant follows my tank right to hide behind the hill while the rest of our tanks head left. The enemy can only face one group, which ever one they leave alone worth be in the perfect position to attack the enemy's rear. I know they will go for my group, now we just need to hold out for the over half of our team to strike and win this battle for us. So we move into position as shells start to explode all around us kicking up dirt which starts to cover our tanks, my sights quickly get blocked up with dirt blinding me. I have no choice but to stand up braving the rain of shells landing around me so I can see what's happening, it isn't going as good as I hopped it would. Another one of our tanks is knocked out, Sentinel is not moving with its white flag deployed. I didn't see what hit it but it wasn't the IS-2, that gun would have claimed the kill with its thunderous bang. It must have been one of the T-34's, no it's two Matilda's against three T-34's and that devastatingly deadly IS-2.

The two Matilda's though as fearlessly as they charged before charged again right into the enemies flank with almost suicidality bravery, the enemy tanks see them charging and try to turn their turrets to take them out but it's too late. At nearly point blank range the two Matilda's open fire knocking out half of the enemy tank force in one deadly strike, they burst through the enemy formation just as the white flags are deployed on two T-34's. They quickly turn but one of the Matilda's luck runs out and they are hit into her side, knocked out by the power of the IS-2's 122 mm gun. The other one is lucky as the shell from the only remaining T-34 explodes in its track, it's not knocked out but immobilised. The gun still works but it's a sitting duck, the Matilda's gunner fires at the same time the T-34 does, the Matilda is hit and knocked the shell they fired hits the track as the IS-2 immobilising that tank as well. They may have been knocked out but they struck blow, now it's our time to do the same.

"Yukari stop the tank, Yura take aim at the T-34" I quickly order see that none of the enemy turrets are facing us, we have one chance. I keep my eyes on the enemy turrets as they spin but not fast enough, before they can turn halfway around we have them in our sights. "Yura fire when read, Yukari get us out of here as fast as you can once she fires" Yura fires rocking our tank with its recoil but hitting her mark, I smile as I see our shell hit the T-34 and it grows even bigger as I see the white flag raise. I jerk slightly as Yukari speed us away before that Is-2 has us in its sights. "Good shot Yura another enemy tank down, Yukari remember to zigzag and Hana tell Lian to us her tank to shield ours" We make a hasty escape as fast as we can zigging and zagging all over the place to make us a harder target to hit, finally we make it to a wooded area where I finally let out a sigh feeling safe. We have at least ten minutes, that's how long I guess we have until the crew of that IS-2 to fix their track. We have to find and knock out their flag tank before then. "Yukari head to the Pravda teams starting point, we will start searching for their flag tank there"

"What if it isn't?" Hana asks.

"Then pry we find it before that IS-2 has its track repaired" I tell her.

"Lian says "We are in luck look to our left by the giant tree"" Hana quickly says as we emerge through the forest. I stand up and see a great sight, the enemy flag tank is right here hiding be hide the thick trunk of a massive oak tree. The enemy flag tank is a KV-2 its barrel and front armour is sticking out one side of the tree and its engine the other side, I'm surprised they tried to hide there but then again we could have easily missed them if Lian didn't spot them.

"Ok tell Lian to take the led, Yura take aim we are going after it" I tell my crew. "We are the back-up remember there is still another tank out here guarding it, we are looking for that take, Lean can take the enemy flag tank" The Grant opens fire with both its guns missing but spooking the enemy tank's crew, they quickly start to reverse preparing to move, I know I just said Lian was going to take the shot but we can't have that tank running off to seek protection from that IS-2. "Yura take it out we don't have time for a chase"

Our shot hits its mark but not where I would have wanted, shooting on the move is difficult so it was still a great shoot which we were lucky to make. Our shell smashes into the enemy track blowing it off and forcing the enemy tank to come to a halt, the Grant now fires missing with one shot but hitting the enemy turret with its second. Another great shot, the enemy was turning its turret to fire on us when that shot hit and it looks like it jammed the turret. We have them, we are really going to win this. Once again a loud bang ends any thoughts I was having of victory. To my left I watch the shell impact the Grant out of the corner of my eyes knocking it out, there is no way that Is-2 could have fixed its track that fast or even caught up to us yet. I look around as Yukari starts to zigzag and spot it, a shiny piece of metal on a hill overlooking this field. It's bad the enemy tank is an SU-85 a Soviet self-propelled gun, its 85 mm gun isn't as deadly as the main gun of the IS-2 but it's still just as dangerous to me and my crew. It's in the perfect position to, it can cover their flag tank from up their staying hidden until it fires its first shot. Another trap but this time their flag tank was the bait that lured us in.

"What do we do now?" Yura asks scared but ready to do what she must.

"Keep on attack" I tell them knowing we won't get another shot at this. "Yukari keep advancing like we are, Yura take out the enemy tank and Misato load the shells as fast as you can. Even they go down or we do"

We charge the enemy flag take at top speed firing on the move, our first shot misses and I almost curse as I watch it sail over the enemy tanks engine. Then I am covered in dirt as a shell from that SU-85 explodes right next to it, I duck back down covered from the waist up in dirt from that shell. I take a minute to clear my eyes before standing backup, I need to see the enemy if I want to beat them and with my sights still blocked this is the only way. Our second shot hits the ground less than a millimetre away from the enemy doing nothing but showering it in dirt, another miss from us but… a fall back into the turret as we are hit, we aren't knocked out but as I get up and look over the sides I see our track has been blown off. Misato loads another shell and I know that will be the last shot we fire in this match, if it hits we win and if it misses we lose. I don't say that though, Yura doesn't need any more pressure on her shoulders if she is going to make this shot. She fires, I raise back up just as she pulls the trigger. IT's a hit, we hit them but at the exact same time the enemy SU-85 hits us. Both our tank and the KV-2 is knocked out, so who one?

"Who one if both tanks were knocked out at the same time?" Yura asks as I sink back down into the tank and take a seat.

"I don't know, it's up to the judges" I reply wounding who has won myself. "But no matter what happens we fought well and should be proud"

"Attention contestants we have a winner" The announcer suddenly starts to speak, well it's time to find out who the judges said won. "The winner of the match by knocking out their opponent's flag tank half a 0.5 seconds faster is Koala Forest High School"

* * *

I jump off of the truck that towed my tank back to our schools prep area and am immediately surrounded by my team who are cheering so loud they my deafen me and some of the members ruby tackle me to the ground in a suffocating hug, everyone is happy we won and some look like they can't believe it. It was closer, I don't think it could possibly be any closer but we won. We won and did something the school hasn't done in a long time, got past the first round in the National High School Sensha-Dou Tournament. From what I've been told it's been a while since our school has done that, no wonder some of the people who made this victory possible are looking like they can't believe us. But this one match shown we need a lot of practice, we lost all are tanks and only just barely won. Once the tanks have been repaired we will need more training if we want to go any further, are accuracy is still a problem that we won't survive long without resolving. When I finally free myself and get up to my feet I look up to see that small girl that laughed at us coming towards us on the shoulders of a giant girl. The one on the shoulders being carried is small about the same height as Yura but it's hard to tell given she's on someone's shoulders, she has short blonde hair and a pair of light blue eyes which look me over, she is wearing a green brown style uniform with a Russian red cross and a skirt with the same distinctive colour. The girl carrying her is a tall, elegant girl with long straight black hair and a pair of light blue eyes but hers look a lot soft and kinder then the short girls and she is wearing an identical outfit to the girl who's riding on her shoulders. As they approach the small girl jumps down from the taller girls shoulder, Yura makes her way to my size and now these two girls are side by side I can tell she is the same size as Yura.

"You're the teams Commander right?" The short girl asks.

"Yes I am" I reply wondering why she wants to talk to me, I don't think it's anything bad. She doesn't sound or look angry so she can't be taking out her defeat on me, so what does she want with me?

"I'm Katyusha, Pravda Girls High School team commander" The short girl says extending her hand to me.

"Nice to meet you I am Lynnette Bishop but you can call me Lynne" I say as I take her hand and we shake, she's a lot stronger then she looks. I never expected a girl her size could be this strong, it feels like her grip is crushing my hand.

"I just wanted to say good game" She tells me with a small smile as she releases my hand from her vice like grip. "You fight well and I thought we had you at the end"

"I did too" I reply with a light laugh. "I didn't think our match will be this close"

"Me ever" Katyusha says with a giggle of her own. "But next time we will beat you"

"You can" I tell her and we both laugh again. "I look forward to our next fight"

"Me too" Katyusha says before she and the taller girl leave.


	4. Chapter 4

I wake up to the smile of bacon and sausages sizzling away and a smile on my face, our victory yesterday was still fresh in my mind. I sit up smiling as brightly as the sun that's shooting rays into my room and feeling like I can do anything, even win the National High School Sensha-Dou Tournament. But deep down I still know that there's a good chance that won't happen, it doesn't mean I can't try though. I will give it my all and so will my team, it was clear last night that they will do everything they can to help our team win. Last night we celebrated till we couldn't stand and Misato's parents let us eat till our stomachs felt like they would burst, the cake was so good and they gave us a discount. They said they would have gave us to for free if they could afford it, it was a fun night we all enjoyed and made a promise to do it again if we win this tournament. If anything, that alone is enough motivation to win. With high sprites and the will to win our team now has there's no way we won't do well this year, no matter how hard it is or how powerful our opponents are we won't give up until every last one of our tanks have been knocked out.

I have a quick shower and get dressed before I head down stairs where the smell of my breakfast makes my mouth water, I really hope that is my breakfast. If it isn't I may steal it from whoever it belongs to, no matter who that person is. To my relief when I step into the kitchen I see it is for me and I can't help but stare at the food with drool dripping from my mouth as my mother plates up the food, a full English breakfast my favourite. My mother shoots me a glance that snaps me out of it, I wipe away the drool with my sleeve as I feel my cheeks redden with embarrassment. I can't believe it, I haven't created a pool of drool on the floor since I was a baby. At least only my mother saw it, if it happened at school and everyone saw it then I would never be allowed to forget it. I take my seat as my mother places a plat in front of mile filled with a delicious breakfast that nearly makes me start to drool again by its beautiful looks and enchanting smell, then my mother joins me siting opposite me on the table. I can't help noticing dad is missing, it isn't the first time and won't be the last time.

"Where's dad?" I ask as I take a sausage with my fork before biting into it and having to resist the urge to shove it all in my mouth.

"He was up late last night delivering baby so he's still in bed" My mother answers eating her own breakfast in a much more lady like fashion. "He wanted to congratulate you this morning but he was too tired to get up, so I will do it for both of us. Congratulations on your victory"

"Thanks" Is all I say before resuming stuffing my face with this heavenly meal. Yura knocks nearly as soon as I finish eating, I quickly wipe my mouth and get up. I grab my bag as I walk towards the door and the money mum left for me on the side for lunch, the school lunches aren't great but they are a million times better then what my old school severed. I call back into the house as I put my shoes and coat on. "Bye mum"

"Bye dear" Mum calls back. "Have a good day"

I open the door and Yura greets me with a smile. "Good morning Lynne"

"Good morning" I reply as I step out of the door closing it behind me. "I have a feeling we will be popular today"

"I know, people have been stopping by my families market stall just to speak to me" Yura tells me looking slightly annoyed but never losing her bright smile. "Do you think we will get any new members for the team?"

"I hope so" I answer as we start to walk. "We need to get crews for our free tanks, even if we fill them we will still be outnumbered in the next round" I shake my head at the thought, this is worse then last time. Last time we were outnumbered our tanks made up the difference in our team's numbers but this time, we will be even more outnumbered and our tanks can't make up that difference. "Whoever our next match is against are going to have twenty tanks and if the Sentinel AC IV is fixed and we get all our tanks crewed we will only have… about thirteen tanks to field"

"We will find a way to win, we won our last two games and the odds were against us" Yura replies making a good point, we both saw the bookies odds for our team winning those matches and they both weren't in our teams favour. "Like you said "Anyone can win if they give it their all and never give up" remember"

"I guess I should listen to myself more often" I say with a light laugh.

"You should" Yura replies with a laugh of her own. "You always inspire others but never yourself"

* * *

I was right when I warned Yura about the attention we would get when we got to school, every student and most of the teaches want to talk to us, congratulate us on getting the schools Sensha-do team past first round in the National High School Sensha-Dou Tournament for the first time in years. I be polite answering every question and ask, accept new members for the team and with the help of Yura I make it through the day. I don't think I could have made it through the day without her, I don't know what I would have done without her by my side today. But the constant attention wasn't that bad, we have enough members to form two more crews and I have a feeling that by the time Yura and I get to the tank sheds there will be more people there wanting to join. Our last victory has really turned the team around, our old members are starting to get good but still have a way to go and more and more girls want to join our schools team. I couldn't have hoped for better, I didn't think that one victory would have gotten the team so much better off. Our tanks are repaired and hopefully the Sentinel AC IV will be ready soon, our teams getting better and bigger. Yura's right, I need to listen to myself more. Anyone can win if they don't give up and give it their all, I just need to remember that when things seem grim and I can't see any way out of it.

"Today went better than I thought" Yura says as the bell rings to end the school day.

"Yeah" I reply. "New members and a lot of fans, if we were back in Britain then everyone would call us oddballs and avoid us like with the plague"

"Lynnette Bishop please report to the principal's office immediately, I repeat Lynnette Bishop please report to the principal's office immediately" A teacher says over the schools intercom.

"I hope its good news" Yura says.

"I'm sure he just wants to talk" I tell her standing up. "Just do what you did last time, get the new recruits settled into their tanks and I'll be then I'm done"

"Ok see you soon" Yura replies standing up herself.

"See you soon" I say as we both leave for our destinations.

* * *

I knock on the door of the schools principal's office and enter when I hear him say enter, inside I find the principal sat at his desk smiling as he sees me and two other people. The first is Alex Webb, I feel my heart skip a beat at the sight of him and or some odd reason I am worried I don't look my best. It's strange, I never worried about that before. So why am I feeling like this now. Anyway onto the second person, he's an old man with bolding white hair and he's dressed like a genitor. He probably is the school genitor, I never seen him before so I can't say for sure. I wonder why these people have gather, I wonder why they want me to be here. Alex I can guess is here about the Sentinel AC IV tank, the schools principals might want to talk to me about the team and the old bolding man I… I have no idea why he's here or why he wants to talk to me, I really don't have a clue. So why am I here? Why am I here with these people? What is going on here? These questions swim around in my head as I walk up to the principal's desk, why am I here?

"You wanted to see me sir" I say as I reach his desk feeling everyone's eyes on me.

"Yes Mr Webb here has come to drop off the tank he was repairing for you" The principal tells me nodding towards Alex.

"I parked it in from of the tank sheds" Alex says taking over speaking from the principal. "It's in full working order and ready for the team to use"

"Also Mr Onishi here has found something that might interest you" The principal says taking back control of the conversation.

"Yes when I was throwing out the trash this morning I noticed something in the bushes behind the school" The old man says. It's a tank of some kind, I don't know if it will be of use or works but I thought you should know"

"Thank you for telling me" I reply bowing which I wouldn't normally do. "I'll go check it out"

"Take Mr Webb with you" The principal suggests. "He already agreed to take a look at it if you want him too"

"Ok" I reply, I guess having him take a look at the tank is a good idea and the best thing to do.

* * *

Alex and I arrive behind the school and come face to face with what Mr Onishi said he saw, it's a nine foot tall heavily armoured tank. I never seen anything like it before, it has a big powerful looking gun, its tracks are protected by armour which covers the sides of the tank and already just by looking at it I can tell this tank will be a great asset. If it's working that is, god I hope it's working. I climb up onto the top of the turret and take a look inside while Alex goes to the back to have a look at the engine. From what I can see the tanks in working order, its need a clean and there are a few spiders in here but it really does look like it can charge into battle right now. As I look towards the rear of the tank my eyes meet with Alex's beautiful grey ones, I haven't seen a shade of grey as beautiful as this before.

"It looks like the engine will run" Alex tells me as he climb up onto the back of the tank. "I need to start her up to make sure"

"Ok" I say moving so he can climb through the hatch. "I hope you're not afraid of spiders, there are more than I can count in there"

"I'll be fine" Alex tells me disappearing inside the tank, I drop in behind him and settle into the commanders seat. Alex starts up the engine and roars into life sounding loud but in good working order. "It sounds great"

"Sure does" I say happy that this tank works.

"Do you want me to drive us back to the tank shed?" Alex asks looking up to me with a smile that looks stunning on his lips. "I could test the steering and breaks as we go"

"Sounds good to me" I tells him before saying. "Panzer vor"

"What do you two think you are doing?" A stern voice asks, I look up and see the face of evil staring down at me. Ao Asato, the Student Council President stares down at me with her blue eyes as cold as ice and full of anger. What is her problem? "You can't go driving your tanks where ever you please!"

"We didn't drove it here" I tell her. "Mr Onishi told the principal about this tank being abandoned here and he told me, we both came to check it out and are now moving it bac to the tank sheds or where about to when you turned up. Now can you ever get in or get off so we can move it please, you could get hurt up there"

"Ok but get this tank moving it can't stay here!" She orders still staring her ice cold stare into my soul. "Congratulations on your win by the way" No why don't I believe she really means that? "Get out of here!"

"She seems nice" Alex says as the blue eyed demon jumps off of the tank.

"She sure is" I reply, we both laugh before we get under way. The tank engine roars once again as we start to move, worth this tank we have better odds in our next match.

It takes about ten minutes for us to get to the tank sheds and in that time I had gotten in and out of that tank more times than I could count, I had to jump down to guide us round several corners, through narrow gaps between buildings and to tell countless students who came over to see what we are doing to step back. By the time we park up in front of the tank sheds I'm exhausted and don't want to move from the commanders seat, at least it was easy with Alex who seems to be able to drive the tank like a pro. I wonder if he was a member of a tank crew before, the way he driven us here shows he has experience driving tanks, he has nice big strong arms so he could easily have been a loader. But here in Japan Sensha-do is a girls only sport, he looks western so he could have played it there where both genders can take part. I wonder where he is from.

"So Alex where are you from?" I ask as I look down at him watching his body gracefully move to shut off the engine. "You don't look like you are from Japan"

"I'm from New York, my family moved here when I was ten" Alex answers looking up at me as the engine gentle goes silent. "So where are you from, I can only guess your British from your accent?"

"London but I lived outside the city in a boarding school most of my life" I reply remembering the grassy hills surrounding the school being so different to the building surround my home or the sea surrounding this ship, I miss racing tanks across them when our team commander wasn't watching.

"Being at sea must be different to the green country side back home, I know it was for me" Alex tells me. "I can remember some days waking up half asleep and wondering where all the tall buildings have gone"

"While it is different but I haven't walked off of the side of the ship" I say with a small smile. "Yet"

"Lynne why are you… Sorry didn't mean to interrupt" Lian says as she and Yura climb onto the tank spotting me and Alex inside. "We will just leave you too love birds alone"

"Have fun" Yura adds before the two of them disappear giggling.

"I should get going before my boss wonders where I am" Alex says as he starts to climb out of the tank slightly red in the face.

"Me too I have training to start" I say climbing out as well feeling my face burning just as red. "Thanks for fixing the tank, bye"

"Bye" Alex says before he quickly leaves and the girls in my team surround me with mischievous looks, I don't think this training session will be that fun but I'm sure everyone else will love it.

"So who's that handsome man you were talking to?" Lian asks confirming that, this day will be ending badly for me.

* * *

After training I run home to watch the highlights of the Saunders Girls High School's and BC Freedom High School's match which was played early today, whoever wins will be our next opponent in the tournament. I am hoping it will be BC Freedom, their tanks won't be that much of a problem as the Saunders tanks. But as I walk in I find I missed most of the highlights, I come in just as they are showing the replay of Saunders Firefly knocking out the BC Freedoms Flag tank ending the match. So we will be up against Saunders Girls High School, not what I was hoping for but I can't change it. It's a good thing I taped the match, I can watch it to come up with a plan and Yura already gave me her DVD of last year's tournament so I can learn more about my opponent. Hopefully I can come up with a plan to make out disadvantage in numbers not matter as much, I'm sure I can and with the team as fired up as they are find a way to win this match.

* * *

The next morning Yura and I walk to school together like we normally do, thankfully she has forgotten about Alex and I in the tank together and is not teasing me. That's all training was yesterday everyone teasing me, I can't complain too much though as we did get a lot of training done yesterday. I just hope the rest of the girls have forgotten is well, if not then this da will be just as bad as yesterday. The only thing that makes this walk to school different to any other is that today we are stopped, we are stopped by a young women who looks like she just finished school and she looks just like the Student Council President. Only older and her eyes are softer, I can't see the anger or icy coldness in them like I do in the Student Council President. They must be related, she can't be the Student Council President's mother she is definitely too young to be so that leaves only two options. She's ever the older sister or cousin of the Student Council President, I'm betting she is her sister though they look too much alike to not be.

"Hello girls can I speak to you?" She says as we approach her stepping out in front of us, it's not in a way to block our path but it defiantly gets our attention. "I am Uyehara Asato, Ao's older sister"

"It's nice to meet you" Both Yura and I say almost at the same time.

"So what do you want to talk about?" I ask next.

"My little sister Ao, I know she has been given you a hard time so I want to apologise for her actions and ask you to not hold it against you" Uyehara says with a small bow. "I think she's jealous o you for doing what she couldn't"

"What does she have to be jealous about?" I ask her noting knowing what I could have done to make her jealous. "I didn't steal her boyfriend or am better off than her"

"You saved the tankery team, when she tried to she failed" Uyehara tells me which surprises me and sounds like a lie but, there's something in the way she speaks that makes me believe what she said is true. "When she tried to she couldn't get a single person to join but you, your first day her you got enough members to form three crews. I think that hurt her pride, she couldn't handle that you succeeded where she failed and lashed out at you"

"Then why didn't she help me reform the team?" That is the one thing which I don't have a clue about. "She seemed hell bent on disbanding the team to me"

"I know she did" Uyehara replies shaking her head. "Ao is to dumb sometimes for her own good, she always lets her emotions rule her and guide her in every choice she makes. She let her jealousy turn to anger, her anger take control of her. She let her anger get the better of her, she really is a nice girl so I beg you not to hold what she has done against her and to ask her to join the team" If what she said is true then having Ao as part of the team will stop her from sabotaging it in the future. "I'm sure she will be kinder to you if she is part of the team and you can see the real her" With those last words she turns to leave but before she walks off she adds. "Please think over what I told you and it was nice to meet you two too"

"What do you think?" Yura asks me as we watch Uyehara walk away.

"That me and the Student Council President need to have a talk at some point" I reply knowing that is what I must do.

"I'll come with you" Yura offers as we begin to walk again towards the school.

* * *

It was at lunch when I get to have that talk with the Student Council President, Yura spots her and points her out to me. I follow her finger and spot her, Ao Asato sitting along pushing her food around her plate with a pair of chopsticks. She looks tired and that something is bothering her, I'm not sure whether I should care or not but if what her sister said was true then I know I must. Yura and I sit down opposite her, when she sees us she looks like she's about to leave. But I stop her by saying "I spoke to your sister this morning, she told me some things" That got her attention, she freezes for only a moment before settling back down. "We need to talk"

"What exactly did my sister say?" She asks me looking me straight in the eyes, only this time he could stare is wavering giving into just a little bit of worry.

"That you tried to save the team last year" I answer not breaking eye contact. "That you are mad at me for succeeding where you failed"

"As if I'll be jealous" She replies giving away the truth, her sister was right.

"I never said you were jealous" I could have sworn she gulped when I said that but it's too loud in here to say sure, her sister was right and now she knows I know it too. "I said you were mad and now I know what your big sis said was true"

"Fine it is" She admits looking down at her food like it's suddenly become the most interesting thing that ever existed.

"You could have helped me you know" I tell her, it's not a lie. If she wanted to help I would have accepted her help, I could have really used it. "We could have worked together, we still can"

"What are you saying?" She asks looking confused.

"That I have a tank without a crew and you could have your choice of position in it" I say holding out my hand to her. "If you want one that is"

"Ok, I'll join" She replies shaking my hand and I catch a small smile on her lips.

* * *

After school at practice I am once again the centre of attention only this time it's because I am with Ao Asato the Student Council President not some handsome guy, I can understand why. Ao has been a pain in our teams side since the beginning, the first members knows she tried to shut us down and the newer members have heard that is well from them. Now showing up here with Ao is something not even I couldn't have predicted waking up this morning, if you told me this would happen today last night I would think you were crazy. So it's no surprise that the team looks shocked to see her here with me, I would be to if I was in their position.

"We have a new member" I tell everyone not knowing any other to say it, I look to my side to see Ao for the first time not looking confident. Hopefully this won't affect the team, if what her sister said about the real Ao is true early then I know she should fit right in.


	5. Chapter 5

Today's walk to school is like any other days walk to school, sun shining sown onto the ships deck, a gentle sea breeze blowing across the town onto wrapping around my body like its giving me a cold gentle hug and the sea gales fly above us keeping pace with the gentle cruising speed of the school ship. It's just like any other day here, but today I am more tense then normal and a peak over to Yura shows she's just as tense. Today is the day before our match with Saunders University High School, we can't even have a training session today because we have to leave right after school. I studied Saunders tactics and tanks, they many use American tanks but from watching their previous games I know their firefly is their most deadly tank we will face. Together with Yura and the other tank commandeers we came up with a plan to fight them, our team is looking forward to the match but as always I start to doubt myself and ou team wondering if we are really ready for the match. It's a habit I need to drop, I always get my doubts erased during the match when our teams stands its ground and wins the match. Yura and I hardly talk as we walk, we are both too nervous to say anything. But someone else clearly isn't, someone walks right up to us not showing any signs of fear or worry about our upcoming match.

"Good morning Yura, good morning Lynne" She says as she joins us not even sounding scared, worried or nervous.

"Good morning Ao" Both Yura and I reply back.

"I've finished the research my tank like you asked" Ao tells me. "It's a T14 Assault Tank, it was a joint project between the United States and the United Kingdom. It was never used because the vehicle to be much too heavy for practical use"

"I guess we will have to use it as our teams tank then" I joke.

* * *

As soon as the school bell rings Yura and I quickly make our way over to the tank sheds being joined by several members of our team along the way, we don't have much time to get ready and leave. We have to catch a train to the match this time, it isn't just outside of the port like our last two matches were. It's an overnight train which will take use to the battle area, our match isn't until tomorrow at noon and I wish it was today so I can get rid of the doubts filling my head right now. We make it to the tank sheds to see that the group I am with is the last to arrive, everyone else is already here and starting up there tanks warming the engines for the short drive to the train station we are about to take. We arrive just as our ship enter the small port passing several fishing boats as the ship slowly comes to a halt, our ship is the biggest thing here even the cliffs surrounding the port aren't as tall as our ship.

"Everyone finish prepping your tanks and get ready to leave, we have ten minutes till we have to leave for the station" I tell the team before heading off to my Hellcat, I climb into the hatch just as Yukari starts up the engine. I feel it vibrate through my body as the engine roars into life, I settle into my seat and see my team cheeking everything in their stations. "Is everything working?"

"The engine sounds good" Yukari replies from the driver's seat. "I'll test the steering and breaks in a minute"

"The shell racks are secure and our ammo is on the truck read to leave" Misato answers patting the empty shell racks, our ammo is being shipped separately as per regulation.

"Our radio is working perfectly" Hana says taking off her headset. "The other teams have checked in to, they are ready to leave when you are"

"The sights are good, trigger is working and our gun barrel doesn't have any crakes on its surface or dirt inside" Yura tells me. "I just need to zero the sights before the match"

"Good" I say before turning to Hana. "Hana tell everyone to move out, Yukari" I switch my attention to her as Hana puts her headset back on to relay my orders. "Take us out"

Our tank lurches forward before settling into a nice steady pace, Yukari is gentle as we get going using the wide space in front of the tank sheds to test our tanks breaks, steering and gears while we wait for the others to get going. Once we are already formed up outside the sheds I tell Yukari to take us to the station, once again we lurch forward into a steady pace. As we move through the streets people come out to see us as we drive by setting off several car alarms in the process, but that doesn't seem to put anyone in a bad mood. Instead we get greeted by cheers and shouts of "Good luck!" and "You can do it!" as we drive by, the people here are so different from the people back in Europe when it comes to Sensha-do. Back in Europe people would complain we woke them up or we were making too much noise, here the people cheer us on. We drive on through the cheering crowd with most of us hanging out of our tanks hatches waving back at them, we drive on getting more and more support from the locals. But the best part of the drive is right at the end as we drive down the ramp off of the ship, I look up to see a group of students from our school and a banner hanging below them gentle blowing in the wind. It simply reads "Win this" and the students that hanged the banner are shouting it while waving at us, we all wave back feeling that we can win this. I don't have to look at them to know it, I can feel it in the air that they believe we can win this.

* * *

Once we load up our tanks onto the train we all take our seats inside. Our train carriage isn't anything special, it's just a small seating area at one end and several bunkbeds at the other. We all settle in for the long trip into the seats, Misato hands out some food her parents made us for dinner as the train starts to move. I can tell already this is ever going to be a very long trip or a fin one, there is no TV, radio or anything to entertain ourselves with on this train apart from what we brought ourselves. Lian brought a deck of card which she and several other people start to set up a poker tournament with, I'm useless at poker so I think I'll pass. Ao brought a book with her which she starts to read in a quiet corner of the train, I wish I brought a book with me looking at Ao reading I am halfway through several books right now and should have brought one of them with me to read and maybe finish. I just sit down next to Yura who brought a card game with her that I haven't seen in years, I haven't played it since I was in year two but I recognise those cards anywhere.

"Are those Yu Gi Oh cards?" I ask her as I sit down next her on the table.

"Yes" Yura answers holding up several cards. "I haven't played with this in years but I thought they could help past the time on this train ride"

"I haven't seen these cards in years" I tell her taking a spell card from her and looking over every detail. "These cards used to be so popular but now no one seems to even mention them"

"Do you want to play a game?" Yura asks taking back the spell card before giving the deck a quick shuffle.

"Sounds good" I reply moving so I am siting opposite her. "I'll duel you"

Those Yu Gi Oh card turn out to be a great thing to bring on this train, everyone has a match and when we weren't duelling each other we were talking about our past experiences playing with those cards. We keep playing until we are all ready for bed, we take turns to brush our teeth in the small bathroom which is just big enough for one person to fit in, but Yura is an exception to that as we can easily fit a hundred Yura's in there. Once we are all done brushing are teeth and the last duel has come to an end we all pick a bed and settle in with only a few childish arguments over who gets the top bunk, I was the last of us to get into bed because I draw the short strew and have to turn off the lights before making my way through the darkness of the night to find my bed. Somehow I manage to stumble my way to my bed with only a few accident and one near groping, I pull the cover over my body and close my eyes. It's a big day tomorrow I need to sleep but I can't, I still have doubts and worries about tomorrow. But somehow I do drift off to sleep, it's a blessing that I could.

* * *

The train pulls into the station just as the sun is starting to raise and our team slowly starts to wake up to the yells of Ao, she really must be a morning person because well everyone yawns and stretches she just stands there yell at the few girls who ask for several more minutes. Lian in particular comes under her wrath when she asks for forty more minutes, in the end mainly out of fear of Ao everyone is up and taking turns brushing their teeth. We still have a while before the match and at our last practiced session we came up with a way to pass it, there's a bath house here everyone wanted to go to. To be honest I was a little nervous at first about being naked in front of so many people but I did shower with the other girls at my old school after P.E so I guess this really isn't any different, the others seem really up for it and from what I can tell bathing together is something really popular in Japan. We move slowly off of the train leaving our bags as the train will take us back tonight and make our way to the bath house which isn't that far from the station, everyone seems really happy and looking forward to this bath as we walk.

The bath house is like the Japanese building's I was expecting to see when I moved here, a large wooden stricter with paper like windows and sliding doors. Inside its well-furnished and divided in half with girls on one side and boys on the other, we walk into a large changing room that reminds me a lot like the one at my old school only our clothes are placed in baskets here and not hanged on pegs or folded to be left on the wooden benches. Everyone quickly strips a lot fast then I expected, I've barely taken my jacket off and some of the girls are already naked and walking to the bath with only their towels wrapped around them. I undress myself feeling self-conscious as I lose or and more of the layers covering my body and wonder how these girls could strip so effortlessly, even Yura next to me is now naked and has finished wrapping her towel around her body. I join her soon after but before I am ready to move she starts dragging me towards the bath, she's surprisingly strong for her size. The bath is massive about the same size as my old local swimming pool, most of the girls are already washing themselves apart from Lian and her tank crew who I watch drive right into the water splashing everyone close by including myself and Yura. But never of us let it bother us as we both start to wash our body, once done we both gentle settle down into the water unlike some of the girls who seem to dive into the water using a nearby bench as a makeshift diving board. The water feels so good, it's so warm and relaxing just what we all need to shake our pregame nerves before we let the battle commence.

"I wish our ship has a bath like this" Yura sighs as she lays down until her mouth is submerged and her nose is only just above the warm soothing water.

"Yeah that would be so nice" Lian agrees as she swims up to me sitting down so close our shoulders are nearly touching, I'm a little uncomfortable being so close to another naked girl and Yura doesn't help by shuffling just as close to my other shoulder. "Any way Lynne…" I don't like how she said that not one bit. "How are things with you and Alex?"

"What?" I ask jumping slightly causing the water to splash all around me. "Nothing… I hardly know him"

"I've seen you staring at him" Yura says nudging my arm with her elbow. "Multiple times"

"I've seen that two" Lian continues and I can start to feel my check burn up knowing they must be turning red.

"You seem pretty happy together when you two were alone in my tank" Ao adds making Lian smirk as she learns that.

"You not helping" I tell her sinking down into the water hopping to somehow hide myself in the warmth of the clean clear soothing water.

"Come on drowning yourself won't get you out of this" Lian says putting her arm around my shoulder.

Thankfully someone clearing their throat saves me, every girl in her turns to see another set of girls staring at us from the side of the bath. Three girls step out in front of the rest of the group, leading them is a girl with long blonde hair and a pair of light blue eyes who stand confidently as she watches Lian and me. To her left is a girl with a short grey brown hair and a pair of light brown eyes who looks like she's got a good pair of eyes perfect for the gunner role in any tank, to the blonds right has short twin ponytails, brown hair and dark brown eyes with a few freckles just below her eyes. Our opponents for our match today, Saunders University High School. I can remember watching the blond one standing on her tank as their match ended, she must be their schools Sensha-dou teams leader.

"Mind if we join you?" The blond asks.

"Not at all" I reply knowing it was e she wanted to hear the answer from, she must know I am our schools team captain like I know she is the leader of her schools team. The blond girl casually sets herself down near me while the rest of her team jumps into the water all around us.

"I'm Kay by the way" The blond says as she closes her eyes sinking down into the warmth of the water.

"Lynne" I reply feeling thankful for Kay and her teams arrive despite the fact we are going to be enemies in only a few hours, her arrive has halted the questioning of Yura and Lian as well as getting them to give me some more space.

* * *

Five minutes till the game starts, all the relaxing and calm bathing I got from the bath once Kay showed up is gone. Now I can feel my legs shaking as I stand half in half out of the tank, thankfully my legs are hidden inside the tank and my arms aren't shaking so no one other than my crew can see me shaking. I try to distract myself by taking in the battle arena around me, all I can see is grassy hills all around me with the odd tree so everything is pretty open. The only places where we can hide are in our starting positions but if we do that our position will be obvious to the enemy, we just have to all move out and find a strong defensive position for our flag tank. To make things worse it's starting to rain which will make our track marks more easily to spot helping the Saunders team, it's a good thing that it will work both ways so we can track them just as easily as they can track us. I look around at my tanks, ten in all just like are opponent so at least this will be a nice even fight. For this battle along with my own Hellcat I've brought the T14 Heavy Tank commanded by Ao, she says she has some experience but none in that take so I think it's for the best that she gets some real experience in that tank, her tanks also our flag tank I am planning on using its thick armour to its fullest. I've also brought Lian with her M3 Grant tank, the Sentinel AC IV, both Sentinel AC I's, Crusader III's and two of Matilda II's. I left our Stuart's behind in favour of fire power after seeing a map of the battle arena, in this area we won't need to scout we could see the enemy for miles away.

"Lynne you should get in here before you catch a cold" Yura calls up from inside the tank as she gentle taps my leg.

"And shut the hatch this tank will be an aquarium if it stays open" Yukari adds as I sit back down pulling the hatch closed as I do, I look down to see that Yukari was right the bottom of our tank is filled with enough water to cover her shoes completely. "I think we need drains in here"

"I agree" I reply. "There's a hatch beside if you open it then the water will drain out" I watch Yukari look for and find the hatch in the tanks floor, I have no idea if a real Hellcat had one there but regulations for Sensha-dou states that every tanks must have a hatch at the bottom so the crew could escape if their tank gets flipped over. I watch the puddle disappear out of the hatch until only a few small puddles remain.

"Match start" The announcer announces, everything goes silent inside my tank as the girls wait for my orders so all I can hear is the rain tapping against the roof of our tank. I take a deep breath, we need to move and find Saunders before they find us.

"All tanks are to advance as planned, Yukari keep our pace slow none of us our used to driving in the rain and we don't need any accidents" I say breaking the silence. "Hana keep your ears open in case one of our tanks has an accident"

All our tanks move out quickly forming a wedge formation with my tank at the point and the T14 traveling in the centre surrounded by the rest of our tank force, with long range gunnery going to play a big part in this battle we need as much steel as possible protecting our flag tank. Saunders is going to have a massive advantage on us, most of our gunners are unexperienced and not as good as shoots as I would like to admit. Not to mention whoever is that gunner for their Firefly, I remember watching their last game over and over again seeing that Firefly hit everything they shot at.

"Enemy tanks spotted one O'clock" Hana informs me, I quickly look through my commanders sights and find those Saunders tanks. Two Sherman's driving along a dirt road somehow unaware of us almost like they are…

"Stop our tanks!" I quickly order feeling something is wrong with this picture, our tanks comes to a halt and I know something is wrong now. Those tanks don't seem to notice us meaning the crews are stupid or they have spotted us and our acting as bait, I bet the rest of their tanks are waiting in hidden positions waiting for us to fall into their trap. "Tell Ao to hag back, I want Lian to take the Matilda's and flank left but tell them to be on the lookout for hidden enemy tanks" I watch Lian leave with the Matilda's before I issue my next orders. "I want the Sentinel AC IV to follow us and everyone else to protect the flag tank. Yukari advance towards the enemy tanks, Yura take the right Sherman and Hana tell the Sentinel to target the left one"

I watch our tanks move close, we are at least two hundred meters away there is no way they can't have spotted us so this must be a trap. Now all my tanks have to do is spring, with Lian moving to the flank we should turn their trap against them trapping them instead, I feel our tank gentle come to a halt in the perfect firing position.

"I'm ready to fire" Yura reports her eyes locked into position looking down the sights of our main gun.

"The other tank says they are ready to fire too" Hana says turning to face me.

"Ok on my mark... Three… Two… One… Fire!" I order stalling to give Lian more time before we spring the Saunders trap, I feel our tank rock as the cannon booms sending vibrations through the air. I look through my own sights and watch as both our tanks score direct hits on the enemy tanks, our round impacts the side of the enemies tank right in the engine knocking it out while the Sentinel only manages to blow the enemy tanks track off. Now they now we are here I can see the now disabled Sherman's turret turning to face us but no other enemy tanks appear, maybe it wasn't a trap and the crews of those tanks never spotted us. "Take out the remaining tank, as soon as it's knocked out get us out of here and keep an eye for enemy reinforcements"

"Guns loaded" Misato calls out.

"Firing" Yura says before she pulls the trigger making the tank rock again, another direct hit Yura is becoming a great shot. The enemy tanks takes two hits both it the side of its turret knocking it out of the game.

"Ok Yukari take us back to the flag tank, Hana ask Lian if any of her tanks have spotted the enemy tanks" I say as the white flag raises from the Sherman.

"Lian says she can't see any enemy tanks and never can her tanks" Hana replies relaying Lian's report.

"Tell Lian to take her tanks and have a look around for the enemy" I say as we start to move, for about ten seconds before our tank is violently thrown to the side and our tank skids round almost doing a 180. "What was that?"

"I don't know but…" Yukari answer just as our flag is deployed. "But we've been knocked out"

"Great" I sigh with a shake of my head. "Is everyone ok?" I ask receiving nods from my crew. "Good now Hana, tell Ao we've been knocked out and she's in charge"

* * *

As our tank arrive back at our prep area I look up at the large screen displaying the match and see things are not going well for our team, I see that the Sentinel AC IV which was with my tank managed to escape and regroup with the others but we have lost a Matilda. On the bright side another Sherman from the enemy but the rest of the enemy team is advancing on our flag tank, apart from their flag tank which is nowhere to be seen. They must have left it alone while the rest of their team attacks our flag tank, they've done it before in their last game. But that also means there flag tank is in one place and I know where, this is so frustrating to know where the enemy flag tank is but not being able to do anything about it. It is at the other team's starting point it has to be there is nowhere else it can be, that's the only place it can remain hidden from us. I really wish I was still in the game so I could tell my team that information, Lian and her tanks are in the perfect position to assault the enemy flag tank but instead watch as they race to save our team wasting a chance for victory. At least I can just use this to watch and learn, even if we do loss this match I can learn what we need to do to improve next year.

"Do we still stand a chance at winning?" Yura asks stepping up beside me to watch the game.

"We still outnumber them and our tanks are evenly matched so yes, we can still win this" I reply as I continue to watch, Lian and here tanks have now arrived and taken out a Sherman but lost a Sentinel AC I in return. The enemy pulls back leaving us with a small victory, seven of our tanks are left and six of the enemy tanks are left. "I just hate knowing the location of the enemy flag tank and watching our team miss opportunities to take it out while it's alone and an easy target"

"I think it wasn't an accident we were taken out first" Yura says as we watch our tanks regroup. "I think they did that on purpose because they know you were their biggest threat"

"I agree" I say knowing it must be true and was a smart move for Kay to make. "We must have been hit by their Firefly and from what I have seen that tank hits whatever it's aiming at, I have to admit it was a smart move for them to make. Cut the head off of the snake and the body dies, I think that is what they were planning but the rest of our team put up more of a fight then they were expecting so that's why they are retreating"

"Why did you leave Ao in charge anyway?" Yura quietly asks me sounding unsure whether or not she should ask that. "Lian has more experience and has led small groups before"

"But Ao has study tank warfare of the Second World War making her more knowledgeable and being the Student Council President proves she's smart enough to use that knowledge" I answer watching what I had hoped would happen when I left her in charge, Ao is quickly reorganising our team and being accepted as the new commander. "See she's already regrouped our remaining tanks and is relocating them so the enemy doesn't know where to find them"

"It seems your team is in trouble" A voice calls out from behind, we both turn to see Nonna, the giant girl from Pravda Girls High School but if I remember correctly she was a kind girl and that voice as too arrogant to belong to her. I have to look down to spot the real person that voice belonged too, only just barely coming up to the giant girl's waist is Katyusha the Pravda's Sensha-dou team captain. "They lost their leader"

"But Saunders has lost more tanks" I point out. "And I'm confident that the girl I left in charge can lead our team just as well as I can"

"I doubt that" Katyusha replies as our tanks clash for the second time. "You are a rare kind, you can see things before others do like right now you figured out where their flag tank is when not even I could figure it out, in our game you made decisions so fast I could barely keep up and you don't hesitate. If you did at the end of our game instead of making that last charge we would have won, our IS was repaired and only seconds away from joining the fight. That's why Kay hit you first, she told me herself that you were the biggest threat in today's game"

"I have faith in my team" I tell her before turning back to the screen Justin time to watch the first shots being fired.

All miss and only cause large columns of muddy and muddy water to raise into the sky coating ever nearby tank with a tick brown coat. The second shots soar across the battlefield so loud I can hear them from the prep area knocking out Matilda and Lian's Grant, the other team losses deadly Firefly and another Sherman. I sigh knowing that their Firefly with its deadly aim is no longer a threat, with that gone Ao's chance of leading what's left of our team to victory has greatly improved. Four verses six, we have the advantage in both numbers and momentum and Ao doesn't waist it as she presses the attack forcing the reaming Sherman's to retreat. Ao and our tanks our in close pursuit as they charge guns blazing, finally the Saunders flag tank joins the fight as their team is forced into a corner with the battle area bounders to their rear and our tanks closing in from their front. Another Sherman goes down with our team next barrage but in return we loss the Sentinel AC IV and my heart stops as I watch a shell smash into the front of our T14's armour, thankfully the thickness of its steel saves the tank causing the round to bounce off its armoured body. We also loss a Crusader, the enemy are starting to gain the advantage. Our team is firing on the move while theirs are stationary, Ao needs to stop our tanks to level the playing filled or at least get them to zigzag which thinking about it sounds like a better idea. Three verses three an even match in terms of numbers but Ao starts to gain an advantage by getting our tanks to move randomly about, now the three remaining Saunders tanks are having just as much trouble hitting us as our tanks our having hitting them. Volley after volley is fired as both sides try to hit the other but only cause the ground to explode, I tightly cross my figures knowing I am watching the match come to an end. No matter what this game will end in a matter of minutes, right now ever side could win and I can only pray it's my team. Our tanks continue to close in as they fire, this time every tank is hit and I can't tell the damage as smoke engulf all the tanks. Waiting for it to clear is the longest minute in my life, when it does clear I could cry. All the tanks but one has been knocked out, the only tank left standing is our very own flag tank. We won and it's all thanks to the tick armour covering the T14, we won and our going on to the semi-finals.

"Cognations on another win" Katyusha says.

"I can't take credit for this one" I reply knowing the rest of my team was what won this match for us.

* * *

Back in the bath with the rest of my team is great this time, everyone is happy and no one is interrogating me. The water somehow feels better than before, I guess I was to occupied about our match to properly feel it this morning. This time I just sit her soaking in the water with my eyes close enjoying the warmth of it around my body, I wish this peace could last forever. I wish I could live here, yeah that would be so nice.

"So Lynne" Lian says coming over to me with a smirk and the same look in her eyes she had this morning. "So where were we this morning?"

"I'm not getting out of this am I?" I ask as she swims right up beside me.

"Nope" Is all she replies with and I know it's true, maybe living here isn't such a good idea.


	6. Chapter 6

To say school wasn't school anymore was an understatement, it's like we aren't even meant to be learning anything here. All today Yura and I have been bombarded with girls wanting to join the team, unfortunately I had to turn them all down and could only offer them supporting roles or back up positions in case someone was ill or unable for some other reason to take part in the match. We simple don't have the tanks, we only have thirteen tanks and all of them are fully crewed. I would love more members since in our next match we will be outnumbered by two tanks, I don't know who we are facing but I doubt they would waste their numerical advantage or we will get lucky against them. What we need are more tanks or a brilliant plan, I always hate fighting at a disadvantage. But Yura comes up with the idea of going on a tank hunt, it's something that could really make our team have a really fighting chance. I remember that T14 was left in the open so maybe there are other tanks left lying around too, we just need to go out and look for them. I quickly change me replies to the girls wanting to join saying we can go look for tanks, I also hate saying it but have to remind them that I can't grantee we will find any and give them a place on the team. Everyone seems happy with that answer and I tell them to meet up at the tank sheds after school, I tell Yura to pass onto the rest of the team what we are doing today while I put an end to the girls question to the relief of the teacher who has been struggling to teach his lesson.

* * *

At the tank sheds there is a large group of girls waiting with our team members lost amongst the girls wanting to join, if all goes well then we should have four new teams by the end of the day but I still know that some of these girls will be doing support work while waiting for a tank to turn up. I hate doing it but we have no choice, if we don't have a tank for them we don't have a tank. I think the hardest thing will be deciding who's in and whose out, I hate giving bad news so it will kill me to tell those who are out they are not on the team. But right now I have another problem, I never was any good in front of a crowd and with a group of girls this big in front of me looking at me for directions is a little scary. But I have to get over it, I'm their leader so I have to because if I can't talk to them here then I certainly won't be able to lead them in a battle. I clear my throat, step forward and begin to speak hating how nervous I feel right now.

"Ok everyone, as I am sure you know we are looking for tanks today" I tell the group. "I made some calls during lunch and know there aren't any in storage but some of the old teams tanks are still unaccounted for. Which means they are somewhere on this ship so we just need to find them, that T14 was found behind the school so we know they are out there. So I want the new members to form into groups of five and for those of you already on this team I want you to group up with your crews, we will go round in groups with one group of new members with each crew. Feel free to ask the crews any questions as you search, any questions?" All hands stay down and no one speaks up so I say. "Great now group up and move out"

We wait for several minutes for the new girls to form into groups and to pick one of our teams crews to take them out, I think it's a good idea to pair up the new members with our old ones. It gives them a chance to get to know members of the team and have their questions answered, it also helps to search the area having five more pairs of eyes on the lookout for hidden tanks. Lian seems a natural at this making the new members who are with her crew laugh and feel at ease, Ao is doing a good job too although the new members seem a little nervous and scared around us. Some of our crews do leave without new members but I expected that, I watch the others leave before turning to see five eager faces waiting to go already having a question answered by Yura. After watching the others leaves, we do the same choosing to search the wooded area at the back of the ship.

I look around the forest wondering how a ship could have a forest, the trees don't look fake and smell, feel and look real. If I didn't see it for myself then I would have said these tree were fake and called your crazy for telling me they were real. Birds, squirrels and all kinds of creepy crawlies all have made this woods home making you almost forget you are on a boat but the gentle rocking as the ship hits the waves reminds you that you are miles from land. I turn away from the trees and look back at the rest of the girls, Yura seems to have made friends with a cheerful redhead who has not lost her smile for a second out here, the rest of my crew seem to be joking around with two other new members but a pair of twins seem to keep their distance and not say more than a few words. They have long black hair tide into a pony tail, blue eyes that sparkly but watch the surroundings like they are on the lookout for a life threatening threat. They look like they are both in good shape with strong legs and arms so I know they at least won't struggle inside their tank but one their hands is something that tells me they will do well, on their hands is what looks like oil which they tried and failed to remove. I wonder if they know a thing or two about tank maintenance, if they do that would be great, so far Alex and a few of his friends have done a wonderful job but I am sure they would appreciate the help. I slow until I am walking next to the twins, so far I have spoken to everyone but them.

"Is that oil on your hands?" I ask as we continue to look around for any signs of a tank.

"Yes" One answers lifter her hand to her face to examine the black smug on her pale light skin.

"We were in the young engineers club until yesterday, it was disbanded because we were the only members" The other replied.

"That and we tried to build a plan in the classroom our club was given" The first one adds smirking.

"Testing that engine did scare the teacher that was passing by to death" The second says making them both smirk, I can remember hearing about that incident but didn't think it was true until now.

"So do you know anything about tank engines?" I continue to quiz them.

"Yes, we both do" The first replies without hesitation.

"We built one before but the police took it once we tried to build a tank around it, they gave us a warning for building a dangerous machine" The second tells me.

"Well this time they can't arrest you" I reply hopping that it's true, you never know.

With that I stay silent secretly hoping that they won't blow up our tanks and I walk back to the front of the group a little afraid to ask anything more, they must be gifted mechanics to build a plane so I hope they will be more of a help then a threat to our team. I go back to scanning the area as we reach a small lake, they even have a lake on this ship. It's more of a pond then a lake but I was still surprised to see it, I guess whoever built this ship went all out to make sure no one will ever miss the land once they are on-board.

"Hey what's that over there?" Hana calls out pointing to a large bush on the other side of the lake, only it's not a bush.

"Is that a barrel of a gun" Yura asks also pointing but this time to a long stick like object that is protruding out of the bush.

"I think it is" I reply as I start to walk towards it skirting around the edge of the small pond like lake without looking back to see if the others are following but judging by the sounds behind me I know they are. As I get closer I know it is as I can start to see its steel body through the leaves and twigs of the bush, it's not a big tank with thick armour and a powerful gun but hopefully it can make up for it with speed. "Yes it is a tank"

"Will it work?" I don't see who asked it or recognise the voice so it must have been from a new member of the team hoping to have a tank to fight in so they aren't doing support work, I would be the same in their position wishing to join the fight instead of watching from the side-lines.

"We are about to find out" I reply as I climb onto the tank towards the hatch on top, I open up the tanks hatch and look inside to find a dark hole. Once the light starts to flood in I can see rust and dust everywhere but very little damage so once the rust and dust is gone it should work fine, I will need to ask Alex to look at the engine and tracks but hopefully it should work just fine after a little cleaning. "It's dirty but nothing seems broken"

"The engine looks like it will run" I turn to see both twins with their heads buried in the engine.

"It just need a cleaning like the rest of the tank" The other adds before asking. "Can you start it up please?"

"Sure" I reply jumping down into the tank and finding the driver's seat to need replacing as it's so uncomfortable, I quickly start up the tanks finding some of the controls to be stiff from probably years of not being used but at least they are working. The engine purrs into life sounding a little rough but I think it shouldn't take long to repair that, then it starts to purr like it's a different engine entirely. I quickly get back up standing up through the hatch to see why and find the twins working on a running engine, why are they doing something so dangerous there are plenty of moving parts that could crush, smash and tear their bodies apart. "I think I should stop the engine before you two continue"

"No need" One replies leaning back and looking down at the engine.

"We fixed it already" The other finishes. "We can drive it back to the sheds the tracks looks like they still work"

"Ok everyone else climb one" I say hoping they won't do something so dangerous again, I look to the two twins. "Take another look at the track before we leave just to be sure they won't fall off once we get going"

* * *

We return to the tank sheds riding our tank back which runs perfectly with only the controls being a bit stiff coursing us problems, the tank ride is the greatest as we hit several trees thanks to the stiffness of the controls. But somehow we make it back to the sheds alive and well, I am glad I am not using this tank but feel very guilty about giving it to someone else to drive. Hopefully with a little cleaning they won't have such a hard time as we are. We drive up to see a small group of people already there, they look like they didn't find anything so I hope the others did because if not then I will have to not let some of these girls join the team. We park up our new tank and jump down to join the group, they seem happy that at least we found something. But some of the newer members don't they must know we don't have enough tanks for them so they will only do support work. I leave the tank letting the twins give it a proper looking over for anything that neds to be repaired or replaced, so far all it seems to need is a good cleaning so it's a relief to know it won't be in need of major repairs and to have new parts to be ordered for it.

"I figured out what the tank is we found" Misato says walking up beside me. "I don't know why I didn't recognise it at first but we have a picture of it back at my family restaurant, Covenanter tank made in Britain and used between 1940 and 1943"

"It has a QF 2-pounder like our Sentinel and Matilda tanks" Yura says joining in the conversation. "The tanks armour is only 40 mm's at its thickest point"

"It should fit nicely into our team and could be useful in our Matilda tank team or as a guard for our flag tank" I reply thinking over for a few seconds all the possible ways to use this new tank. "It could also be a scout is well" Just then a rumble of an engine and the squeal of tracks gets everyone's attention as a light vibration shakes the ground. "Hopefully that means someone's found something"

The T14 appears moments later with Ao half out of the hatch looking behind her tank as it drags a… what looks like a Comet tank behind it, finally a tank with a big gun and I think it also may have thicker armour then the T14 although that I will have to check later. Lian and her group follow on foot looking proud at what they found, I would too if I was them that Comet tank is a great find and more than I could have hoped for. But this also means not everyone is going to have a tank and looking around that means I think three people will be on supporting roles, I am going to hate having to make the deciding over who is and who isn't in the tanks. Hopefully the twins will accept to be on maintenance since they seem to like looking over the Covenanter's engine, now that leaves just one more person to choice not to be on a tank crew. This is going to be a hard choice and I will hate giving my answer, I hope I can find someone willing to not be in a tank. On the plus it means we have fifteen tanks meaning we will be evenly matched in our next match, I still need to find out who that is against though.

* * *

I am on my phone to Alex to see if he can come to look over the tanks, the comet needs some work done to it but hopefully he can get it done before our next match. It is a call I make every time we get new tank so it shouldn't have been as hard as it was but thanks to Lian it was a difficult call, she isn't saying anything but it is what she is doing that makes this call so hard.

"Hello Alex it Lynne" I say as he answers and I notice Lian move so she is sat in front of me with a note book in one hand and a pen in her over, what is she up to I have never seen her draw before.

"Hey Lynne what can I do for you?" He asks as I watch Lian scribble away on her notebook but I can't see what she is doing as her back is to me and blocking my view.

"I was wondering if you could look at one of our new tanks for us, it looks like it needs some repairs but I can't say what exactly" I reply as Lian holds her note book in front of my face with the words (Ask if he is doing something later) written on it, I shake my head at that and she take back her note book writing something else on it.

"Sure I can come over now if that's good with you" Alex answers as Lian pushes another note into my face, this time it says. (Why not? We know you like him) I ignore that and continue to listen. "I just finished my shift so I can be there in about ten-fifteen minutes"

"Ok, we brought it to the tank sheds" I tell him. "See you when you get here"

"See you soon" Alex replies before we hang up, I turn to see Lian who's smirking.

"Why didn't you say those things, I know you want to?" She asks and I blush slightly knowing she isn't completely wrong. I nearly said those things too and it took a lot of focus not too, I have to think of a way to pay her back for that later.

"That's not important right" I simply reply as I go to walk back to the rest of the team.

"If you say so" She calls out as I walk away.

Alex arrives just as we decided on crews and the last person to be moved to support, the girl wasn't that upset and we agreed to put her and the twins on the next tank we get. Until then the twins said they can teach her about engines so she can be of use to us until we get her a tank, Alex shows up just as the twins start to give her a few simple tasks that need to be done on the Covenanter which is mainly just tightening bolts. I walk up to meet Alex with Yura and Lian, I wish Lian didn't tag along because of earlier.

"Hi Alex" I greet him.

"Hi Lynne, Yura and Lian" Alex replies in kind. "So where the tank?"

"This way" I tell him nodding towards the tank. "All I can say is that it's not running, I have no idea why or if anything else is wrong with it"

"Nice tank" Alex says as he sees it. "It's in rough shape but still a great tank, so did you find anything else?"

"Yeah we found a Covenanter in the woods" I answer as he starts to look over the engine. "It's filthy but runs"

"It seems you had a good day then" Alex says as he continues to look over the tank.

"It will be if you tell me the Comet will be ready for our next match" I reply hoping he will say that it will be ready by then.

"Your luck continues then because it will, I will need to buy some spare parts but I can get it running in a few days" Alex tells me giving me the good news. "I'm not sure if it will be cheap but I'll get it running"

"I'm sure the cost will be worth it" I say already knowing a tank like the Comet will be a great addition to the team.

* * *

Not long after that we head home, Alex makes a note of what parts he will need and I take a copy to give to the principal on Monday so he can buy them for us out of our team's budget. Once done we leave, Yura and I walk home together like normal after a successful day, new tanks, new team members and all our tanks will be ready for our next match. Hopefully we can and another five tanks if we make it past the next round, I guess that is too much to hope for though.

"Who do you think we are up against next?" Yura asks me as we walk.

"I don't know" I reply. "Kuromorimine will be against St. Gloriana tomorrow so it will be one of them, I hope its St. Gloriana though Kuromorimine's heavy armour will be a nightmare to deal with if we have to face them"

"We'll find a way no matter who we are up against to win" Yura says confidently. "We always do"

"I guess we will" I reply as we pass the store and remember… "Yura you can go on without me I have to buy a few things for my mum today"

"Ok see you tomorrow" Yura replies with a smile.

"Yeah see you tomorrow" I say as we separate.

I walk into the store, it's not that big just a corner shop but it has everything I need. Milk and dairy products line one wall while magazines and newspapers line the other wall along with a cash register in the corner, everything else is on shelf in the back and in-between. It's not big like I said but it's a nice shop with a super nice family that runs it. I only met them a few times since my mum normally buys the food but I already like them, they are good people who will give you the shirt off of your back if you needed it even if you didn't ask them for it. They are just good people, good people with big hearts. I quickly walk through the store picking up some milk, butter, ham and a chocolate bar for myself. But as I walk up to pay I nearly get knocked over, I have to blink several times before I believe who it is that nearly knocked me down. I feel his arm catch and steady me as I look up and my eyes meet his, Alex is standing just in front of me so close I can feel the heat of his skin and it becomes so quiet I can swear I could hear is heart beaten in his chest… or is that my heart?

"Sorry I… Lynne, I sorry I didn't see you" He quickly apologises as he removes his arm that was steadying my body. "Are you ok?"

"I'm fine don't worry about that" I reply starting miss his heat as he takes a step back. "I didn't expect to see you hear"

"I could say the same, so what did you come in for?" Alex asks in response.

"Just a few things for mum you" I reply while making sure I didn't drop anything.

"Just a drink" He answers holding up a can in his hand. "I haven't had anything to drink since breakfast and am still about ten minutes away from my home, I just couldn't wait for a drink any longer"

"I think the store will thank you for you impatiens" I tell him not knowing why I would say something like that, it was like I was trying to be funny for some reason although I didn't want to be. I guess I am just nervous like I am normally around him, at least that made him smile.

"Maybe they will" Alex replies with a small smile. "Anyway I was wondering if you were free this weekend, the ship is meant to dock then and I know a good seaside. If you're free do you want to go there with me?"

"Um sure" I answer, it sounds nice.

"Great I'll meet you at the main boarding ramp as we dock" Alex says his smile growing slightly bigger.

"Ok see you there" I reply happily but also slightly scared that Lian and Yura will tease me to death if they find out.


	7. Chapter 7

I stand in front of my bedroom mirror looking at my reflection for far longer than I ever had before in my life, I check everything. My hair which I combed and left flowing down my back, my face which is free of make up like always but I was tempted for the first time in my life. I felt like putting something on but I decided against it I don't know what I am doing when it comes to make up, I could have asked mum for help but I felt too embarrassed to ask her. Anyway I also checked my clothing, a nice pair of blue jeans, a green short sleeved T-shirt and a nice blue jacket which matches the colour of my jeans perfectly. I always loved this green T-shirt, it is my favour shirt and everyone always tells me that green is my colour. Finally on my feet I have a pair of trainers, the same pair I wear every day. There's nothing wrong with them and they go with my outfit I think, as well as being clues with makeup I'm also clueless about fashion. Finally though I am ready to leave, I walk out of my bedroom, out of my house and out onto the street feeling butterflies in my stomach. This is my first date, I never even thought about going on won or wanted to before today. Back in Britain most of the boys avoided me because I loved driving tanks, here it's very different. Here girls who drive tanks are popular and not avoided like they have the plague, I really like living here because of that difference and because of the friends I have made since coming here.

I walk down the streets of the ship watching the seagulls fly overhead as I make my way walking with a large crowd of people all heading for the same place as I am, the main boarding ramp to the ship so we all can go ashore. We sighted land at dawn and it's been growing larger all morning, now we are only minutes away from docking. As I reach the side of the ship I can see small fishing boats with fishing men and women fishing, a few other boats are already docked and overhead is the first plane which I have seen since stepping foot on this ship. They probably was there but to be honest I haven't been looking up to the sky much, I've been too busy with the Sensha-do team to pay much attention to whatever is in the blue sky above me. The sky is so blue and the fluffy clouds are so white, it amazing how beautiful the sky can be when you really look at it. The sun warmth means now I am taking off my jacket and tailing it around my waist but there's a nice wind today so the heat isn't too unbearable, I guess I should get used to it since we are heading north tomorrow. We will be going so far north that snow will cover the ground, I know I can barely believe it too as I walk bathing in the suns warmth. But Yura and Ao have told me we will need to prepare for some cold weather, even the organisers of the tournament have issued a warning about how low the temperature will be in our next game. It's still warm enough to compete but it will still be cold, cold enough for them to warn us. At least today we will know who we will be facing, Kuromorimine Girls High School and St. Gloriana Girls High School are facing each other this afternoon.

I lean over the railing as the ship slows to a halt and the crew throws ropes over the side to people waiting below, I watch them tie off those ropes making sure this ship doesn't drift off. So many people are here waiting to set foot on land, I think nearly everyone on board is leaving the ship today to enjoy the land. It does look like a lovely town, I can see why everyone wants to go there. It is only a small town with a tiny harbour but it looks beautiful, most of the buildings are painted with bright colours and the beach is gorgeous. Perfect sand, sparkling water and gentle waves wash ashore as people lazily float on its surface. I turn to look at the sea of people who are now flowing inland towards the small town and beautiful beach, I soon spot the person I am looking for though through the crowd. Alex walking towards me, he's wearing blue jeans but a darker shade then my own and a T-shirt which shows his strong powerful muscles off perfectly. I knew he was strong but this is the first time I am really seeing his muscles, normally his jumpsuit hides them but not today.

"Lynne, hi" Alex says as reaches me.

"Hi Alex" I reply quickly taking in his powerful muscular body.

"So are you ready to go?" He asks offering me his hand, what a gentleman.

"Of course" I answer taking his hand with a smile, he smiles back as we start to walk off the ship towards the land.

* * *

Alex and I walk hand in hand together off of the ship and with a small stream of people towards the town, the smell of ice cream, of fish and chips and the sounds of laughter remind me of the seaside towns back home. No all we need is an arcade and it will be just like home, that and an old man that hates me for a small incident that happened years ago. I don't know why he's still mad, all I did was borrow his wheelchair to ride it down a hill, I may have nearly ended up needing a wheelchair but I didn't damage it and returned it. He still hasn't forgot about it as every time I walk past him he always tightly grips his precious wheelchair, I don't know why he can't get over that after all these years. Anyway back to the present, the locals seem nice as they smile at us and none of the wheelchair users hold onto their chairs like I might steal them. Alex and I walk right past them as he leads me down the street to this café he told me about yesterday, people watch us as we walk by but not in a bad way. I doesn't feel like they are judging me, I can just easily ignore them as I listen Alex tell me about the town. Apparently this town was founded after the Second World War by Japanese citizens that lost their homes during the war and wanted a fresh start, since then it has been a peaceful paradise with little crime, great weather and friendly residents.

"Well here we are" Alex says as we stop in front of a small café with large windows to look out to the sea right across the street while you eat. "What do you think?"

It's not that big of a place but the floor looks clean enough to eat off of, a large air conditioner unit provides a cool refreshing breeze as we enter the building and the smell of freshly baked goods hits me. This place may be small and also nearly empty but it looks nice and tidy. Alex leads us over to a table next to the window where we can look out and see the beautiful sea sparkling in the sun light as girls I recognise from school start to dive into its small gentle waves.

"It seems nice" I tell him as we sit down, the chairs are super comfy too.

I look over the small simple menu and decide on having a cheese burger with some chips, Alex orders the same only without cheese. The waitress is a young girl only a few years younger than me and must be the daughter of the owners, Alex has mentioned this is a family run business and most other shops are too here.

"So you I bet life is different here then back in England" Alex says as we wait for our food.

"It sure is" I reply thinking of home. "But apart from the language difference and leaving my friends I hadn't had much trouble living here, besides its nice living on the ship"

"Yeah it really is different" Alex replies leaning back clearly think of his old home too. "I didn't live in a nice part of New York, where I come from you would get shot just for looking at someone the wrong way. It was a nice change being somewhere where you don't have to constantly look over your shoulder, but it took a while to get used to and trust the people around me not to drive a knife into my back the moment I turn it"

"Really you don't look like you came from somewhere like that or act like it" I say looking Alex over and not seeing any trace of a person who went through all that.

"While I'm glad, I want to forget that and move forward" He tells me leaning forward. "But one thing I never while forget is this, evil doesn't have a shape or size, it can be any one and hide in the souls of everyone. I was told that once, I can't remember who by but I remember their words"

"So I'm evil" I tease with a smirk.

"Maybe" Alex replies with a small smile. "You are smart so you could become an evil genius, who knows what the future holds for you or me"

"I guess we can only hope I don't enslave the planet" I say.

"If that would happen then the world will go to hell" He says as our food is placed in front of us. "I know you can lead an army but never a planet" The poor young waitress looks scared hearing that, like she thinks we really are planning world domination. Poor girl, Alex turns to her and simply says. "Thank you" To the girl before turning back to me. "I would hate to be around for that"

"You never know" I simply respond as I take a hand full of chips. "I could be the worst leader or the greatest, but that is yet to be seen"

The meal was delicious and makes me want to go to a McDonalds, that's one thing the ship needs to have. Apart from my friends back home and my former tank crew it's a McDonalds, I really missed eating burgers there after school. It was one of the few places I visited regularly, along with that Sensha-do themed café. The meal wasn't as good as we got back home but the staff were friendlier and I felt more welcomed, back home I wasn't welcome because I was a girl on my schools Sensha-do team. The meal was still nice though, Alex was too. We had a good time talking about life back home and how it compares to life on the ship, it was fun as we told funny stories and each other about good times back home. By the time the meal came to an end we were both smiling and have laughed more than I have in my life time, it's been so long since I had a time in my life as good as this. Alex insists on paying despite telling him I have money, he tells me it's his treat since he invited me so in the end he pays for both of us. Afterwards he suggests a walk along the beach since we still have an hour till we have to be back on board, the ship only stopped here to resupply so it isn't a long stop here just a two hour resupply. Once again he takes my hand and leads me, he leads me out of the cafe, across the street and onto the soft sandy beach. By now the beach is packed with people from the ship who are ever swimming or sunbathing, I can see a few people from school but no one I know by name.

"So how was the food?" Alex asks as we walk.

"Good" I tell him as I stare out into the sea, it's so shiny and "Beautiful, I never seen the ocean look this beautiful before"

"This is one of those rare spots, where the sea looks more than just a big patch of water" Alex says looking at the sea water himself. "There are only a few other places I know of where the sea looks as beautiful as it does right now"

"I never seen it like this before" I reply as we both stop, stop and look out to sea.

"While it will be a while until we do again" Alex tells me. "Once we start heading north it will get icy and cold, we might even spot an iceberg or two"

"Hopefully we can avoid them" I say.

* * *

We decide to make our way back to the ship after walking for at half an hour along the beach, we simple retrace our steps walking through the sand towards our ship. The beach is a lot emptier now, most people have ever left or are leaving as we speak. Seagulls have swarmed the sand feasting on the food people have dropped and one I can't help smiling at as I watch it walk along the sand with a crisp packet on its head, the rest of them seem to be a lot smarter and don't stick their heads in the bags only eating the crisp spilled onto the sand. We follow the crowd of people back to the ship, all of them seem to be smiling and clearly enjoyed their brief time on land. Alex and I never let go of each other's hand at all during the walk and its starting to feel odd if he wasn't holding my hand, we both smile as we walk still talking of home and making jokes.

"I should have your tank ready in two days' time from now" Alex tells me as we walk and our conversation turns from home to tanks and the National High School Sensha-Dou Tournament we are competing in. "Let me now if there is anything that goes wrong when you start using it"

"I will" I reply glad that we will have the Comet ready for the next round three weeks from now against one of two possibly strong opponents, Kuromorimine with their powerful German heavy tanks or St. Gloriana who fights smart but use weaker tanks. Both are strong in their own way and will be difficult opponents. "Also would you be able to fit some armoured skirts on our tanks once you are done with repairs?"

"Sure what do you have in mind?" Alex asks in reply and with curiosity clearly present in his voice.

"We are also thinking of adding armoured skirts around our tanks for better protection but we are still deciding on that"

"Yeah sure it should take me a day to fit them after I finished work on the tank" Alex answers making me happy, the skirts should help is well if we agree to buy the metal and cut it to fit our tanks.

"Thank you" I reply giving him a quick hug, he works hard for the team working night and day to keep out tanks running I don't think there is anything I could do to ever repay him.

"I told you" I flinch slightly at that voice, I turn to see Ao and Yura handing some to a smug looking Lian. "You should have listened to me when I told you she was on a date"

All the girls are dripping wet as they hand over several coins so at least they didn't loss much money, they must have went swimming as all are in their swimsuits. Ao in a black bikini, Lian in a white on and Yura is wearing a piece blue swimming suit which looks similar to the ones we wear for school only it's missing the school logo. They still all look happy, even Yura and Ao are smiling despite losing some money.

"Hi" Is all I say in response as Alex and I let go of each other's had. "Did you have a nice swim?"

"Sure did" Lian replies was she puts the money she won into her bag. "I won some money is well but it looks like you had a better time"

"I think I should get going" Alex tells me as he leaves, traitor leaving me to face this all alone. Maybe fixing those tanks could be him making it up to me instead of me not being able to repay him.

"So how was it?" Ao asks as the trio descends on me.

"It was fine" I answer starting to walk towards the ship again as the trio follows me.

"Fine, is that all you can say?" Lian now asks.

"I think you own some more answers since I lost money" Yura now adds.

"I don't know why I owe you for losing money" I reply. "But all we did was have lunch and talk a walk together"

"Along a beach" Lian says wrapping an arm around me, T-shirt instantly soaks through and I can feel the sea water on Lian's body start to drip down my own skin. "How romantic like the stuff you read in books, is that all that happened?"

"Yes" I answer not wanting to talk about it anymore but knowing I have to answer to end this. "All we did was hold hands, talk and walk… also hug each other when you arrived"

"No kissing then?" Lian asks and I shake my head blushing slightly at the thought of kissing his lips.

"Ok" Lian haply says knowing she found everything out as she lets me go leaving a long damp dark mark across my shirt from where her arm was wrapped around me.

"By the why we found out who we are up against next" Yura says thankfully changing the subject.

"Who?" I ask looking at her hopping this blush will disappear soon.

"Kuromorimine" Yura tells me meaning we will face off against powerful German armour in our next match, I can only hope our new tanks and improved old ones will be enough to get us through the match with a victory.


	8. Chapter 8

Everyone here is freezing, that port we stopped at before coming here seems like nothing more than a fantasy. I can't remember the last time I was this cold before, even back in Britain playing in the snow wasn't this cold. I could be wrong though, it hasn't snowed this much back there in years. I look out into the snow covered ground around me, it looks like someone has come along and covered the ground with a white sheet. At my sides are Lian and Yura who are also looking out at the snow, they both seem happy and worried at the sight of it. I don't think they have driven in snow before, I have only once and my tank kept slipping on the ice. We will have to keep it slow or we will lose more tanks to accidents then to the enemy, at least with the other team's heavy armour we can avoid to move slowly. I watched Kuromorimine Girls High Schools matches from last year and learned two things, one they heavy armour from Nazi Germany and two that they attack as one large group in neat organised formations. I don't think they know how to fight anywhere else, last year they lost to Ooarai Girls High School when they broke from formation and got split up.

"It's cold" Yura complains as she shakes uncontrollably.

"It too cold" Lian moans adding her own complaint as she knees down to the floor. "It's even too cold to make a snow ball"

"It could be worse" I say struggling to control my own shaking body. "At least we know the other team is feeling the cold just as much, never of our teams are used to fighting in the snow"

"The tanks are ready" We all turn to face Ao who is walking up behind us with three figures wrapped up in thick winter coats. "We also have visitors"

"It's good to see you again" The smallest of the guests says and even before she pulls down her hood I recognise the voice, Katyusha the arrogance in her voice gives her away. She pulls down her hood wearing a confident smile, I can barely recognise her without that giant girl she's always with. "I hope you are going to put on a good show because the great Katyusha is watching"

"You're not the only one watching" A taller girl next to her says, I know it's not that giant because she's not as tall and her voice is more cheerful. This time the girl who pulls her hood down is Kay… I think. I defiantly know she is the Saunders Sensha-dou team, I barely know anything about her other than that and we shared a bath together before our match. "It's nice to see you again"

"It's good to see you too" I reply with a smile of my own, Katyusha may be arrogant and cocky but she is nice once you get to know her, Kay I hardly know but she seems like a nice girl who will be fun to be around.

"We brought an old friend of yours with us is well" Kay says nudging the third hooded figure forward.

"Old friend?" I question as the third figure removes her hood, who can it be? The sparkle in the mystery girl's eyes looks so familiar, her blond hair that shines like the sun I swear I have seen before and the girls kind warm smile that makes me feel warm at the sight of it. Wait a minute… Sparkling blue eyes, shiny blond hair and a warm smile. It can be can it, is it "Darjeeling?"

"Lynne" The girl says before she runs up to me and hugs me, I hug her back and know it is Darjeeling here in my arms. "It's been too long"

"Too long" I repeat as we let each other go, it really has been too long since we said goodbye and I can't believe I didn't think to look her up when I got to Japan. I guess I was a little too busy with the team.

"How do you too know each other by the way, from what I can tell you two lived on the opposite sides of the planet to each other until now" Kay asks and I notice everyone staring wanting to know the answer to that.

"We met two years ago" I answer.

"I spent time as an exchange student at Lynne's old school" Darjeeling continues.

* * *

**Two years earlier**

* * *

I was told to come to school an hour early and meet with the Head Teacher for some reason, I know I got into a fight with some girls two days ago but that was outside of school grounds and with someone from another school so I don't know why he would be involved. Normally he would turn a blind eye to something like that, unless someone ends up in hospital or it's reported in the paper. But that never happened, I was the worst off in the fight and no one saw the fight but them me and the girl I was fighting. So I shouldn't be in trouble for it, it's not the first time I fought someone and I didn't get in trouble before so I shouldn't be in trouble now right? So I walk into the head teachers office completely clueless as to what I am here for or why, all I know is I am not alone in this little meeting. There's another girl her with blond hair that needs to be daubed down before she blinds someone, bright blue eyes which sparkly with confidence and excitement. We look to be the same age but she looks more refined, like she comes from some noble family, she simple smiles and bows her head as I entre before the Head Teacher starts to talk.

"Lynne this is Darjeeling she is here as an exchange student from St. Gloriana Girls High School in Japan" The Head Teacher tells me.

"Isn't that one of the ship schools, modelled after the Ark Royal I believe?" I ask wondering two things, firstly why am I here? And secondly why do I have to meet this girl?

"Yes it is" The Head Teacher replies as he takes a look at some paper work. "Now then I brought you here today because Darjeeling here is going to be your new roommate"

"What?" I say not liking the idea, I like having a dorm room to myself and don't like the idea of sharing it epically with a stranger.

"You have a free bed in your room and you two have all the same classes together" The Head Teacher continues. "Now then Lynne, how about you start off with giving Darjeeling here a tour of the school"

"Ok" I reply, arguing will only get me in detention. Darjeeling and I walk out of the room shutting the door behind us. "So where should we begin?"

"Where ever you think is best" Darjeeling answers sounding polite with perfect English spoken with the accent f her homeland. "I've only been shown where this office is since I arrived"

"Follow me and try not to get lost I won't come looking for you if that happens" I warn her as I begin to walk keeping a speedy pace and not caring weather or not she can keep up, it would be so much better if she was to disappear.

"Shouldn't you be more polite to a guest" Darjeeling complains, god this girl is going to be a pain in the neck.

"This is me being polite" I tell her as we continue to walk.

* * *

**Later that night**

* * *

Darjeeling was a pain in the neck, a really bad pain that just won't go away no matter how hard I try and make it. Being at school with her was hard enough and now I have to share a room with her, this is going to be a long night. I let the girl into my room and her eyes widen at the mess before her, my bed is unmade, dirty clothes form three piles on the floor and my books from school only add to the mess covering the room. Darjeeling turns around and looks at me her eyes wide open in shock and her jaw hitting the floor, I don't think even in her wildest dreams she thought she would walk into a room like mine. Maybe it will make her want to get another room, fingers crossed she will be gone soon.

"Is your room always like this?" She asks still not looking like she can believe I live like this.

"All the time" I reply jumping onto my bed. "Until I get forced to clean it"

"How can you live in this dump?" Darjeeling asks walking over to her bed, I watch as se swipes one of my bras off of the bed. "Don't you know how to clean your room?"

"I do I just can't be bothered" I answer as I watch her stare at her bed like it might be dangerous to even touch.

We don't speak after that, I just lay on my bed reading a book while I watch Darjeeling out of the corner of my eye clean up a little around her bed. We stay like that for an hour before we take turns using the small bathroom attacked to my room to change, wash and brush our teeth. Then we both settle down into our beds to sleep. "Good night" I hear Darjeeling whispers but I stay silent missing the quietness of my room when it was just me in here.

* * *

**Back to the present**

* * *

"You don't sound like the kind of people that would hug each other from that" Yura says as we take a break in telling our story. "Ad you are nothing like the person you are in the story"

"Yeah what happened?" Kay now asks. "You really changed from then from what I heard and seen"

"While we grew on each other, after a while Lynne began to accept me and we weren't exactly friends but we did get along with each other" Darjeeling answers.

"But an event happened which forced us to work together" I tell everyone hating to have to think of that day despite the good friend I had made because of it. "We respected each other after that and quickly became friends"

* * *

**Two years ago**

**The event**

* * *

Darjeeling and I have been roommates now for nearly a month and came to tolerate each other, I no longer make a mess and Darjeeling no longer moans about what I do. We live together without any problems now and we go out shopping together like today. Darjeeling and I were walking back from a local shop late one night after shopping for a few things we need for school such as pens, pencils and notebooks to name a few. By the time we get back its dark out at its starting to rain, at first it was only coming down lightly but it soon began to pour from the sky and the street began to flow with water like they were rivers. We decide to wait this out, if we try to make it back to the dorms in this downpour we will only catch a cold. We walk into an old abandoned pub which has been empty for some time now, its roof leaks and some rain does blow in through the holes in the windows but it's better than the street. We sit into one of the old booths in the corner where none of the rain is hitting, a great big cloud of dust explodes into the air as we sit down but it's no big deal.

"Should we be here?" Darjeeling asks looking around at the walls that are so full of creaks they look like they could collapse at any minute, the ceiling isn't any better with pats of it already on the floor letting water pour in here.

"It will be fine no one ever comes in here" I tell her not knowing whether its tur or not but I know if she starts moaning she will never stop. "Besides the rain should stop soon and we will…"

A loud creak signals the door opening is quickly followed by the sound of glass be crushed under pressure, we are not alone. "Who's that?" Darjeeling asks looking over towards the door. "I can't see anyone"

I look over too but like her and also see nothing. "Me eve…"

"Lynne!" I hear Darjeeling scream as a dog comes out of nowhere catching my arm in its powerful jaw. I scream as I feel its teeth tear the flesh of my wrist and the warmth of my blood begin to flow down my arm, I react more out of desperation than anything else punching the dog as hard as I can in its head. With a yelp the dog lets me go and backs away growling, I back up to and Darjeeling starts to pull me away. I don't let the dog out of my sights, we keep our eyes locked onto each other until Darjeeling drags me into the kitchen shutting the door behind us. She quickly pushes anything she can find against the door making sure that the dog can't get in, once we are safe she turns to me her face paling at the sight of my arm. "You need to stay awake Lynne, you're losing a lot of blood"

"It's bad isn't it?" I ask looking at my wound, my wrist is completely re with my blood and so is my hand. A small pool of blood is starting to form under me, it really is bad. I look to Darjeeling ad see her remove her belt, she quickly ties it around my arm above the wound. I have seen my dad do this before, looking at my arm I don't think there is anything else we can do.

"I am not going to lie to you Lynne" Darjeeling tells me tightening the belt. "It is, you really need to get to a hospital"

"My phones back in their" I say remembering I put it down on the table right before the dog attack.

"Mine is too" Darjeeling says just adding to the bad news. "I dropped when I saw the dog bit you"

"So what do we do now?" I ask her standing up. "There no one around this part of town is deserted this time of night"

"Then we need to get one of our phones back" Darjeeling says staring out the door which separates us from that beast in the next room. "It's our only option"

"Ok I'll distract it" I say, Darjeeling looks at me about to protest but I don't let her. "Listen it the only way, I'll get its attention on me while you run and get the nearest phone"

"Ok" Darjeeling sighs, I know she doesn't like it but at least she's smart enough to see it's the best way to get a phone and call for help. "One three I'll run for it, then you keep it looking at you until I am back"

We move to the door and clear it of the barricade, once clear we take a moment to ready ourselves for what is to come then we both say together. "Three…Two…One" Darjeeling busts out of the room and runs for the phone, the dog instantly spots her and begins to bark and growl. I watch it ignore me and start to go for her, I grab a broom from the corner of the room.

"Hey over here!" I shout at the dog swing the broom so that it slams so hard against t stool left lying on the ground that both the stool and the broom shatter making an extremely loud bang in the process. "Look at me you stupid dog!" The dog stops only to growl at me, then it begins to move towards Darjeeling who by now has got her phone and mine in her hands. I do the only thing I can think of, I throw the shattered broom at the dog hitting its front leg and really pissing it off. It growls and barks angrily at me before charging, Darjeeling and I barely escape back into the kitchen before it's on us. "I hope you got it because I don't think we can do that again"

"I got it" Darjeeling answer out of breath.

* * *

**Back to the present**

* * *

"And after that we became friends and never left each other's side until Darjeeling went back to Japan" I say ending the story.

"So Darjeeling saved your life?" Katyusha asks looking at me then to Darjeeling and then back to me.

"Apart from a scare" I reply pulling down my sleeve to expose my scare covered wrist the dog chewed up. "We survived intact"

"All tanks are to report to their starting positions" The announcer calls out. "I repeat all tanks are to report to their starting positions, the match will begin shortly"

"Good luck" Darjeeling says to me.

"You better not disappoint me" Katyusha warns poking me in the leg, I guess if she was taller that would have been a poke to the chest.

"Good luck today" Kay also tells me before the three of them leave, I watch them walk before turning around to face my team. They are all here and must have gathered round to hear that story.

"Everyone get into their tanks and move out" I order. "we have a match to win.


	9. Chapter 9

The cold air is blown gentle in the breeze across the snow covered battlefield, everything I can see is white, the ground, the hills and the leafless trees. This area isn't the best but I can make it work for us, there are wide open areas where Kuromorimine's tanks will have a massive advantage but dividing up the large patches of open space are tall steep hills that will give Kuromorimine's tanks a lot of trouble if they try to climb them. That's where we will fight them, we will lure them in and then destroy them there in the hills. It's our best chance against their tanks thick armour and powerful guns, at least it's not snowing. We can see all-around us as the sun shines down onto the battlefield from clear skies, the weather seems perfect today. Although a blizzard would help, it would force us to fight a close quarters where we could see each other and where our tanks stand a better chance at against their heavily armoured tanks.

I look to my left and right looking at my team's tanks confident that we stand a chance of winning, all of our tanks are painted white but our shade is lighter than the snow on the ground. Hopefully it will work and the slightly lighter colour paint won't be useless. I stand up hanging out of the hatch of my tank looking around feeling the chilly bite of the breeze as I wait for the match to start, I'm feeling nervous but ready to go at the same time as I wait for the match to begin. I really do think we can win this, with all the training and planning there's no reason we cannot win.

"Hey Lynne you should come inside before you catch your death up there" Yura says tapping my shaking legs.

"Not just you" Yukari adds. "With that hatch open we can feel the cold too"

"And your leg keeps hitting me" Misato complains adding to the reasons for me to drop back down into my seat and seal the hatch, keeping the warmth in and the bitter coldness out. Maybe standing up here wasn't such a good idea, I drop back own into my seat pulling the hatch closed with me deciding they were right. Its better but not great, at least the gentle breeze isn't hitting me now sending cold air down the back of my coat.

"Much better" Yukari sighs turning back around towards the tank drivers controls.

"So is everyone ready to go?" I ask getting a chorus of yes's in response. "Yukari remember not to turn the engine off, in this weather we might not get it restarted"

"Yes I know you've been saying that every five minutes since we left the prep area" Yukari replies sounding annoyed that I told her that again.

"Just checking" I tell her. "Hana remind the other tanks to keep their engines running for me" She does that right away. "Misato keep checking the shell rack for frost and ice and don't let ay build-up"

"Lynne I told everyone what you said but…" Hana says turning around to face me. "Lian said "Stop reminding me" and the Student Council President says "She knows not to turn off her engine" Every other crew said similar things"

"I seem to be getting on everyone nerves today" I say aloud.

* * *

The match begins and I quickly order my tanks to advance towards the largest group of hills and like usually I send the Stuart out to scout, only this time I've only brought one Stuart with us because they don't really stand a chance against the power of Kuromorimine's tanks. We move swiftly and orderly across the field not wanting to be out in the open when we spot the Kuromorimine tanks where they could slaughter us at will, we need to get to the cover of the tall steep hills before Kuromorimine turns up with their tanks. As long as we stay in the cover of those hills we can win, the moment Kuromorimine catches us in the open is the moment we lose. I lookout though my commanders sights not liking the limited vision and missing the wide open view I get when standing up hanging out of the hatch, we are making good progress and should be at the hills in a minute or two. Its looks pretty out there, but that prettiness is hiding danger. Ice our tracks will slip on, deep patches of snow that could suck our tanks down like quick sand and because its snow it leaves our track marks exposed making it easy for the enemy to track us, it works both ways though making the enemy easy to track.

"Lynne the scout team has spotted the enemy" Hana reports breaking the silence of the tank, if you can ignore the engine it's silent. "They say the enemy is moving as a group skirting around the hills where we are and heading right for are starting area"

"Ok tell our scout team to stay hidden and keep the enemy in their sights" I quickly say as I pull out a map of the area looking at both our position and Kuromorimine's reported position before quickly coming up with a plan. "Have Ao, the Comet team, and our Sentinel AC IV to follow us. Tell Lian she's in charge of the rest the team and hide out tanks on top of the hill to our one O'clock"

"What are we going to do?" Yura asks as the tanks I requested to follow me form around my tank.

"We are going to be bait, we will lure them right into the guns of our other tanks" I tell her. "We are the flag tank so we should be the perfect bait and one they can't resist to chase"

* * *

My Hellcat leads the tanks in my group forward down the small gap between two hills, it's started to lightly snow now but not enough to impair our vision. We soon reach the end of the hills to the mouth of the hills that opens up into the wide open snow covered plains, the enemy is directly in front of us and to our left is high on top of the hill there I spot our Stuart tank. The white paint is doing its job well as I only barely can make it out up there, the other team tanks are painted white is well but the fact that their tanks our moving makes them easier to spot unlike our Stuart up on that hill. I order our tanks to form up a line with mine tanks and bring us to a full stop ready to fire into the enemies flank, I wait letting our tanks take aim at the enemies tanks tracks.

"Open fire!" I order once I am sure everyone is ready, our rounds explode the snow around the enemy tanks kicking up columns of snow but missing. We all quickly reload and fire again missing two of our shots but one of us hits an enemy tank in the tracks stopping it dead, by now the Kuromorimine tanks are moving to assault us turning so their front armour is facing our guns. "Everyone fire once more then reverse out of her, keep firing and don't turn round until we are in the hills we don't need to give them an easy target to hit"

Are tanks shake as the enemy shells explode amongst us luckily missing but they were too close for comfort, I really know the power of those guns now as they nearly shook our tanks to pieces. We start to reverse out of here firing as we go and experiencing an earthquake as the enemy returns fire, luckily we make it into the cover of the hills without losing any tanks and can turn around and get out of here. We still travel slow though making sure our tracks leave nice big marks in the snow making a trail for the enemy tanks to follow, we make sure the lead right into our trap. I have the Stuart keep an eye on the enemy tanks making sure they follow, they report the enemy is and will soon be at our mercy. I quickly tank my tanks and hide them in a long ditch giving us perfect cover as only are turrets are exposed, With Lian and her tanks in position on the hill we have set up a deadly kill zone.

"Lian says her tanks are ready to attack on your orders" Hana says as we wait for the coming fight, one things for sure it will be one hell of a fight. I look through my sights as we wait for the Kuromorimine tanks to appear, I try to spot Lian and the rest of our tanks but I can't see them anywhere. They did a really good job hiding and will be a nice, deadly surprise for the Kuromorimine team. "And our tanks all report they are ready"

"Good, tell everyone to fire as soon as we do our shoot will be the signal to spring our trap" I tell her as the Kuromorimine tanks enter our kill zone, their engines announce their arrival and soon their tanks start to appear in our sights. "Hold fire let them get closer" I order since their tanks aren't firing at us meaning the white paint on our tanks have done its work. "Prepare to fire" I order ready to spring the trap and secretly hoping we are in the same area as Lian and the rest of our team since I still can't spot them. "Fire"

"Firing" Yura warns as she pulls the trigger, our tank rocks back as the gun lets out a loud bang sending our shell on it way. I watch it explode in the engine of a Panther tank knocking it out, seconds later that ground the Kuromorimine tanks are driving across explodes as countless amount of shells explode amounts them knocking out another Panther and also a deadly Tiger. The enemy tanks are quickly covered in the snow that was kicked up but keep their heads, I watch as they orderly turn their turrets at our tanks to return fire.

"I want everyone to keep firing we are not retreating" I order ready to end this here and now if I have too.

"But their guns will tear us apart" Yura points out as she waits for Misato to reload our gun.

"So will ours" I say still not willing to retreat. "The guns in our group can be effective at this range and the guns in Lian's group can hit their weaker top armour, they can knock out an of Kuromorimine's tanks from up on that hill"

"But if they hit us we loss" Hana reminds me as Yura fires another round.

"Then let's hope we knock out their flag tank before we are taken out" I tell her knowing that this is a gamble, this plan will only work if we hit them first. "Never the less we need to keep firing until then"

We fire another volley of shells hitting several tanks only for our shells to ever shatter on impact or bounce off of their tanks thick frontal armour, Lian's group of tanks has better luck knocking out another Tiger and three Panthers. The enemy has taken a heavy blow but they are still able to fight back and their flag tank is still undamaged, the enemy finally finish aiming and returns the favour sending a wave of shells back at us. Once again the ground shakes like an earthquake is rocking the area, their shells than around both my group of tanks and Lian's group. We get of lucky considering the amount of shells exploding amongst our tanks, only Ao's T14 is lost if my group. I can only hope that Lian's group is just as lucky, I can only see the flashes of their guns firing so I can't tell you the losses they suffered.

"I think we should pull back" Yukari suggests preparing to move our tank.

"No we stand and fight" I order. "This is our chance, we suffered less damage then they have and are in better positions tactically then they are. We stand and fight, we will win this if we hold"

"The enemy tanks are retreating" Yura says, I quickly look through my sights and see the enemy tanks reversing back the way they came.

"Hana tell the Stuart to fire" I quickly order knowing that's the only that that can block their way.

"But their gun is useless here" Hana points out.

"It doesn't matter" I tell her. "If we can make the enemy hesitate then we can take out more of their tanks before they escape. We may loss the Stuart but the chance to take out more of their tanks is worth the loss, I don't like it but if it wins us the match I'll make that sacrifice"

"I'll tell them" Hana replies before making the call. "They don't like it but are going to open fire"

I watch the Stuart move to block the enemy tanks way before firing, its shell as expected bounces off the thick armour of the enemy's tanks. But the plan works, I watch all of Kuromorimine's tanks stop at the arrival of our new tank. Despite being under gunned and having thin armour our Stuart has stopped the heavy armour, this really is like David verses Goliath now if we can knock out the enemy flag tank it will have the same outcome. We exchange another valley of shells causing the ground to shake violently ad snow to fly up turning the light snowfall into a blizzard, more tanks are lost as black smoke raises from their engines. Kuromorimine losses another Panther and their extremely dangerous Jagdtiger I watch being knocked out by a shell fired from the hill Lian's tank group is positioned, we loss the Sentinel from my tank group and on shell only barely misses the turret of my tank. Soon Kuromorimine's tanks are moving again and knocks out our Stuart which lasted longer then I predicted it would, never side lets up as they fire shell after shell at each other.

"Keep firing and aim for their flag tank, ignore every tank but that one" I tell my crew. "Hana make sue the others do so as well" Shell after shell is fired but the enemy tanks continue to run back the way they came, we have to end this here we won't get another chance at this. "Keep firing we need to end this match here don't let them escape!"

"Match over, winner Koala Forest High School" The announcer announces being an end to the battle and causing our whole team to cheer and hug each other something we haven't done since our first match, we won somehow.

* * *

We pull into our pre area to find Kay, Katyusha and Darjeeling already there waiting for us, I jump down from my Hellcat and straight into Darjeeling's arms.

"You haven't changed a bit since we last seen each other" Darjeeling says as we let go of each other.

"I still think it was luck" Katyusha says as she and Kay walks up to us. "You got lucky that their flag tank was knocked out first"

"Nope it was good use of the battle area that won this match" Kay tells her.

"She's right Koala's tanks were in the perfect place to knock out the enemy tanks" Darjeeling adds.

"A victory is a victory no matter how it is won" I say as I sense more people approach.

"Even if they are won by hiding" A stern strict voice of a women says, we all turn to see a girl about my age wearing a Kuromorimine uniform standing behind an older version of herself. The older women continues to speak. "Being a dishonourable sneak is not how you win"

"History begs to different" I tell her. "The German army lost countless tanks to ambushes by Soviet tanks, in some cases entire tank columns were wiped out well the Soviets didn't take any losses at all. I studied up on my history before this match, I found ambushes were my best option for this match. How would you have fought in my position since you clearly think there was another way to win?"

"I would… I… That doesn't matter" The women says to me as she turns to leave clearly beaten. "Maho we are leaving"

"Bye" I call out as I watch the two of them leave, I turn back to the other. "She seems nice"

"She always takes Sensha-do too seriously" Darjeeling tells me. "It's always good to see someone stand up to her"


	10. Chapter 10

Tonight's going to be great. After the match we all sit down in a warm lodge cuddled round the fire, everyone has in their hand a warm drink and are in very good sprites after our win. Originally we planned to head straight back to our ship after the match but everyone was freezing and with the night descending fast its only getting colder, so we found this lodge which didn't have any rooms free but our letting us sleep in the lounge area. So we all are sat together under blankets the owners have giving us drinking, talking and laughing as we all bath in the warmth of the fire. Darjeeling and I sit close together since most of the talk is of us and the girls are asking us a lot of questions, we didn't even sit next to each other to begin with and only moved closer because everyone was complaining that their necks were hurting from the constant switching of their gazes between us. Their question isn't as bad as when we all took a bath together and isn't something that bothers me this time, mainly thanks to Darjeeling their questioning is bring up some nice memories from our past.

* * *

**Two years earlier**

* * *

I open my eyes and can't figure out where I am. Everything is so bright and clean. I can smell something but I can't figure out what and there are voice I can hear, they are to quiet and mumbled to make out but they do sound familiar. I go to sit up but as soon as I do I feel a painfully stinging sensation in my arm, I look down to see a bloodied bandage covering my wrist and suddenly my memory returns. I remember the rain pouring down as Darjeeling and I were walking home, I remember we took cover in an old building and then that dog. That dog trapped us in the kitchen and tour my wrist apart, what about Darjeeling? She wasn't hurt as far as I can remember but my memory is, my memory is a bit foggy after we got our phones back. Did that dog get her? Did that dog somehow get in the kitchen and attack her? Where is she? I keep asking myself that last one as I look around my room, I'm the only one in here so she can't have been hurt right? I keep looking, the bed I am on is the only one in this room, a blood drip is by my bed and a tube connects to my arm feeding my body the warm blood I lost to that dog and a window which shows a beautiful sunrise over the town. Apart from a door and a light that's flickering above my bed there's nothing else in this room but me. That soon changes though as the door swings open.

"Lynne honey thank god you are ok" My mother suddenly rushes me moving faster than I could have ever dreamed she could and hugs me so tightly I feel I might pop. "We came as soon as we heard, I'm so glad you are ok"

We? Who's we?

"How are you feeling Lynnette?" My father asks as he over being the doctor her is, my mother reluctantly lets me go so I can reply but sits on my bed so close to me I can feel the warmth of her body.

"My arm stings but other than that I feel fine" I reply seeing my father no mentally noting my answer, this is just like him being a doctor first and a worried father second.

"That's to be expected" My father tells me still being the doctor instead of the father. "Also you may feel weak from blood those, your friend did a good job in stopping it but you still lost a lot of blood"

"Where is Darjeeling?" I ask suddenly worried about her once again, where is she?

"The girl you were with?" My father asks and I nod.

"She's on the floor by the window side of you bed" My mother tells me and I quickly look to see her fast asleep on the floor beside my bed looking perfectly fine. "She's been by you side since the attack, she rode in the ambulance with you, called us to let us know what happened and hasn't left your side since you got here"

"How long was I out?" I ask wonder just how long she's been here with me.

"Just last night, you woe up before the surgery to fix your arm but they quickly put you to sleep so they could operate" My father calmly tells me as I realise just how bad my arm was from that one attack. Surgery, I needed surgery. I knew my arm was in bad shape but hearing what they had to do to fix it is only making it sound worst. "You will have a scare but the dog didn't have rabies so you don't have to worry about that, it was also caught when they came to rescue you"

"Don't worry Lynne you fine" My mother says hugging extremely tightly me again. "You will be out of here in a few days and be just as you were before"

"I won't if you keep on crushing me" I tell her as I feel my spine start to snap in her vice like hug.

"Sorry darling" My mum replies losing her grip but not breaking her hug, seconds later a doctor knocks on the door.

"Miss's and Mr Bishop" the doctor says as he lightly taps on the door. "I'm sorry to interrupt you but I need you to sign some papers"

"Ok" My father says walking towards the doctor without even saying goodbye to his own daughter who is sitting a hospital bed right now after being attack by a vicious wild dog.

"I'll be right there" My mother says standing up. "We both love you Lynne and will be back to see you again soon"

I watch the door close behind them as they go off to fill out paperwork, I sigh falling back into my bed seeing my parents haven't changed a bit since I left to start this school year at m boarding school. Dads still treating me as a patient instead of a daughter and my mother still showers me with love, still the same parents I left behind. I suddenly hear movement, the sound of fabric rubbing against carpet. I quickly look down to the side of my bed to see Darjeeling start to stir, I watch her roll over onto her back and her eyes slowly open up. When her eyes meet mine they seem confused at first but then widen, then as quick as a flash she is up on my bed hugging me. I didn't think it as possible but now two people have moved faster than humanly possible, people can move really fast when they want to hug you.

"I'm glad you were ok I was so scared" Darjeeling says sounding like she's on the verge of tears as she hugs me just as tightly as my mother did, I may need a wheelchair if people aren't more gentle with their hugs. "There was so much blood and that dog, it wouldn't stop barking and trying to get into the kitchen. Then you fell asleep, you closed your eyes and wouldn't open them no matter what I did" Now she is crying, I can feel her tears on my chest starting to dampening the hospital gown I am wearing. "You wouldn't open your eyes, I thought you were going to die"

"I'm fine Darjeeling" I tell her hugging her back with one arm, I would have used both but the over is still connected to that blood bag. "I'm alive and going to be out of here in a day or two, don't you have school by the way?"

"They said I could have the day off after what happened" Darjeeling replies breaking the hug and sopping her tears. "Why would you ask that when I stayed by you side in this hospital don't you want m company?"

"It stopped you crying" I say seeing it work as her tears have stopped. "It stopped you worry about me, that's why I asked. It's not like I care whether you want to be an idiot by skipping school"

"I'm not the idiot here" Darjeeling responds with a playful push. "Last time I checked I was smarter then you"

We start laughing, insulting each other like this has become almost like a game to us. It feels almost like a joke even though most of the things we say are true, no matter what we say to each other we always laugh it off together afterwards. We get so caught up in laughing we didn't notice the door open and a nurse step into the room, Darjeeling even ended up falling over and landing face first into my chest. It's then that we notice the nurse stood there, we she her red in the face slowly backing away towards the door.

"I'm sorry" The nurse says covering her eyes as she leaves the room. "I didn't mean to interrupt you two"

"It's not what you think!" Both Darjeeling and I shout but it's too late as the nurse as already disappeared firmly shutting the door behind her.

* * *

**Back to the present**

* * *

Everyone is asleep but Darjeeling and me, we lay awake watch the dying embers of the once blazing fire die out. Drinking tea sat next to each other feels just like old times, back in our dorm room back in Britain when Darjeeling was still studying there. We had good times and bad time but we always got through whatever trouble came our way together, we may have fought, argued and at first hated each other but over time I made a great friend. To think it was all thanks to that one stray dog that attacked us without warning, this scare isn't too bad considering the friend I made because of it.

"This feels familiar" Darjeeling says before taking a sip of her tea.

"Only this time you aren't burning my stuff" I reply and we both giggle at the memory, my messy room really got to her. One day Darjeeling got mad and burnt a lot of my rubbish, we argued, got in trouble with the teachers who thought we were trying to burn down the school and Darjeeling nearly had a hospital visit of her own but after a while it was fun. I can still remember Darjeeling not telling me what was happening and instead offering me a cup of tea, it was delicious tea and made me forget it was my stuff burning.

"You didn't complain" Darjeeling reminds me. "Until the teachers came, then you blamed it all on me"

"It was the truth" I tell her. "I was happy living under Mt Mess" Mt Mess was Darjeeling nickname for the largest pile of dirty clothes, wrappers and school books in my room and something Darjeeling was convinced was going to fall down and kill her. "You were the only one of us who wasn't"

"Because I don't have a death wish" Darjeeling replies before both of us let out a yawn. "I think we should go to sleep now"

"Goodnight" I say laying down where I am.

"Goodnight" Darjeeling yawns back as she lays down next to me.

* * *

**The next day**

* * *

I say goodbye to Darjeeling at the train station the next morning, Katyusha left after the match yesterday and didn't seem to mind the cold so it's only Kay who accompanied Darjeeling here. We say our goodbyes and everyone waves at them from the windows as the train pulls away, Darjeeling smiles and waves back but when Kays and my eyes meet I can't help but remember the last thing she said to me before I boarded the train. "You're up against Ooarai Girls High School next they won yesterday too, you better keep your guard up as a member of the Panzer IV crew is an expert infiltrator who paid my school a visit last year before our match" She warned me, she couldn't remember her name but she did say that. "She has short and curly dark brown hair and dark brown eyes, I didn't get her really name but she used the fake name of Sergeant Oddball" Now this Oddball is my problem and I will need to find a way to deal with her before the finals nine days from now.

* * *

We all ride our tanks back from the train station to our waiting ship, most of our tanks were damaged in some way but they were all easily fixed last night. All the damage we took was to our tanks frontal armour, so the engine and tracks survived with little damage and everything was quick and easy to repair. As we drive through the town to the port people line the streets and cheers and someone even throws me a bouquet of flowers, I smile at the young kid that throw it and his face lights up. I watch him run back to the women I believe to be his mother and starts to tell about how I smiled back at him, I still can't get used to how different Sensha-do is here then back home in Britain. Here people cheer when you drive down the street, back in Britain they moan you have just woken them up or are too noisy.

"A lot of people turned out to see us" Yura says as she notices the crowd and my mouth feels numb, I never smiled his much in my life or waved before to the point that it feels like my arm is going to fall off.

"Yeah and it's probably going to get worse when we get back to the ship" I tell her as I continue to wave and smile at the crowd.

"Why's that?" Yura asks sounding clueless.

"Because we are in the finals" My reply is short and to the point and I ca see it in her face that she understands my answer.

I was right, when we approached the ship I can see people lining the entire length of the main deck cheering us and throwing confetti. When we board the ship it looks like the entire ships population has come out to see us, everyone is lining the main street on the carrier all the way to the Sensha-do tank sheds. When we get back and start to put away the tanks a women comes up to us with a tall man holding a camera.

"Excuse me are you Lynnette Bishop" The women asks as she reaches me.

"Yes that's me" I reply wondering who she is and what's with the camera man following her around, the women has black hair tired up into a pony tail and is wearing a blue suit with a knee length skirt.

"I'm with the National News and was wondering if I could interview you and some of your team" The women says, I don't know what to say or how to react.

"Sure" I finally reply after thinking about it. "If the girls want to be interviewed then you can interview them"

"Great now let's get started" The women says as the camera man starts rolling and we both turn to face him, I didn't see this coming.

* * *

An hour after I finish the interview enter my home, I would have got home sooner but there were a lot… no everybody I passed stopped to congratulate me. I take off my shoes and walk into the main room only for my mother to attack me with one of her vice like hug, my parents never change. My mother still crushes me with her hugs and my dad still treats me like I am one of his patients instead of his daughter, I guess something's never change as much as I want them too. After what feels like an eternity and my back is certainly broken my mother lets go.

"Congratulations on your win, every bodies talking about it and about how you turned the team around. I watched you match and you were great, your father and I are so proud off you" My mother tells me as she lets go, I know she is proud of my newly bruised back is proof of that but my father isn't. He doesn't care about me unless I am sick or hurt, even then he still treats me like a patient as usually instead of as his daughter. "I made your favourite for dinner"

"Great" I reply as she leads me to the table, my mother may be a good cook but this dish is something she can't cook safely. I send a quick text to Yura when my mother's back is turned. "Being poisoned may not be in school tomorrow" My text reads. I have no choice but to eat, my mother only cries when her food goes uneaten which makes me feel so bad until I end up eating it all. There's just one thing I need to know. "When's Dr Dad getting home?"

* * *

The next day I am indeed sick, I have to stay off school but I am back the day after. I am walking to school with Yura when suddenly Ao runs up to us with a look on her face that tells me something is wrong, she stops to catch her breath looking worried.

"Ao what's wrong?" I ask after seeing the look on her face its clear something is.

"Someone… Broke in… to the… Sheds" Ao tells us still out of breath.

"The tank sheds" Yura asks before I can, Ao nods still not able to talk probably.

"Was anything taken?" I ask her, it will be a disaster if a tank was missing.

"No… Just a broken window and a paint can knocked over" Ao answers finally catching her breath.

"Who would do this?" Yura now asks me.

"Sergeant Oddball" I tell her knowing no one else could do it, it's a good thing our new tank hasn't arrived yet she's probably on her way back now without even suspecting we have a new one"

We all walk to the tank sheds together to see a police officer here, she takes a statement from me and after we looked around the shed and confirm nothing was mission we head for class. We arrive ten minutes late but after the break in the teacher let us off with a warning, I also think our recent winning streak played a part in it. All the teachers seem to treat our team members differently after we started to win. School goes fast with every happy and talking about the finales, this is the first time Koala Forest High School has ever made it this far with before the semi-finals being the furthest our school has gone but that was years ago during the fourteenth national tournament. After school our whole team meets up outside the tankery shed around the large box that was just delivered, we spent a large amount of our teams budget plus money people around the ship donated to by this new tank. I open up the box to reveal our new Hellcat, after seeing how well my Hellcat was doing we decided to get another one. Fast and deadly, something I can work with and something that can defeat our enemies in the right hands. Like promised I hand the tank over to our supporting team members who quickly jump over their new tank looking like kids in a candy store, with this and our existing tanks we can win this tournament. There's no reason we can't, we just need to train hard and win.


	11. Chapter 11

I'm so nervous I can barely sit still, Alex sitting next to me has already been forced to move our drinks because my shaking body has nearly knocked them over. It's not my second date with Alex that got me nervous but our match tomorrow, we are up against Ooarai Girls High School. Ooarai was last year's winners but it's not their tanks that makes me worry, sure they have a few deadly tanks but nothing like what we have faced before. What makes me worry and my body shake, what makes the Ooarai Sensha-do team a threat is their commander. Lead Miho Nishizumi the Ooarai team won in their first tournament after years of their team not existing, much like I did here at Koala Forest High School Miho lead a team of underdogs that no one thought would win and proved them all wrong. Now we must face each other, despite their lack of heavy armour I already know this will be our toughest match yet. Both our teams may have a good mix of tanks and be evenly matched in that aspect but Miho is a smart and skilled commander, after reading up on her and watching last year's tournament I can't help but respect her. But right now she has me worried, all I can think about right now is her. I might as well never have come to have this picnic in the Alex because mentally I am not even here with my body, my mind is back home in my history books of tank warfare trying to figure out something that will give me an edge in tomorrow's match.

"Hey Lynne, Earth to Lynne" Alex says over and over again while waving his hand in front of my face to get my attention. "Are you in there?"

"Oh… Sorry" I reply snapping out of my thoughts and back to reality. "I can't seem to focus on anything but our match tomorrow"

"I guess you can't help it" Alex says not sounding bothered by it, what did I do to get such an understanding boyfriend? "After all, Ooarai won last year"

"Thanks for understanding"

"I know how you feel, I felt the same way when my old school's basketball team back in the states played against a strong opponent. But to be honest it is annoying to know that a girl is getting more of your attention then I am" Alex tells me with a smile that's just asking for trouble. "Should I be worried?"

"You know it's not like that" I say playfully slapping him on the arm.

"I know I know" Alex replies with a light laugh before planting a light kiss on my cheek, his lips feel so soft and warm against my skin. "If I was worried about that then I wouldn't be able to let you out of my sights, there are a lot of beautiful girls on this ship you know"

"Yeah I notices" I say returning the favour with a kiss of my own against his cheek. "It's me that should be worried"

"Never" Alex promises before kissing me right on the lips, this is my first kiss and our first kiss together. His lips taste sweat like honey and feel even better pressed against my own lips than they did against my cheek, he's lips pull away from mine a few seconds later and almost immediately I miss the feel of them against my own lips. "Still worried?"

"Another kiss and I won't be" I reply not knowing where the confidence to say that came from, Alex just smiles before he leans forward and we share are second kiss. I think kissing Alex is the best thing for me right now, all my worries about Miho vanish against his lips and the nervousness that was wrecking my body if replaced this warm fuzzy feeling his lips make me feel.

* * *

**One Hour Later**

* * *

An hour later I return home feeling happy and lighter now that the weight of the worry I was feeling disappeared against Alex's lips, I never knew a kiss good have this effect on me. my whole body is still tingling and I'm smiling, that kiss worked wonders on me. I take off my shoes, hang up my jacket and walk into my house to see both my parents sitting down as if they were waiting for me to return. My mother warmly smiles as she sees me but my father just gives me his usual blank stare, I can't tell whether I am in trouble or not. My mother's warm smile tells me I am not but my father's face void of emotion gives me a bad feeling in the pit of my stomach, I can't tell what is happening apart from they clearly want to talk to me about something.

"Lynne dear can we speak to you?" My mother says putting me at ease.

"Have a seat Lynne" My father then says with a voice just as emotionless as his face, his voice isn't like my mothers and I start to loss that warmth I got from the kiss. "We need to talk" I take a seat feeling more and more worried with each word he says. "Now then who was that boy you were with?"

"He's Alex… He helps maintain our team's tanks" I answer feeling uncomfortable under these questions.

"And kissing you is part of his job?" My father questions and I wonder how he knows this. "I was walking home when I saw you two in the park"

"No but…" I blush before continuing really not liking this talk. "That was the only time we kissed"

"How long have you been seeing him?" My father demands to no in a voice so cold it sends a shiver down my spine, my mother who has been listening on this seems to have felt that chill in his voice too because I see her shivering too.

"Now dear there's no need to be so harsh" My mother tells him putting a hand on his shoulder.

"You know she's too young to be dating" My father replies taking his eyes off of me to look at my mother.

"We were younger when we had our first date" Mother reminds him, it true my mother told me how they meet at the age of thirteen and it was love at first sight. "And Lynne's smart enough to not do anything stupid"

"Fine" My father sighs before look back at me. "I won't do anything but I will be keeping a close eye on you"

"Ok" I nod glad this is over.

I get up and walk straight to my bedroom wanting nothing more than to get away from this room before any more questions are thrown my way, I move quickly once out of my parent's sights. I shut my bedroom door as soon as I am through it and lean against taking a few breaths before I make my way over to my bed, I slam my fist into my pillow. How could my father interfere with my life after he left me alone and treated me like a patient rather than a daughter, never before has he tried to be a father so why start now? At least punching my pillow just now seems to be all I needed to calm myself down, now I think I will stay up in my room studying the Ooarai teams' tanks that we know of before I go to bed and come up with any last minute ideas as to how to fight them.

* * *

**Final's Prep Area**

* * *

Yesterday's calmness I achieved thanks to Alex's lips and the questioning by my parents did help to distract me a little as well but now, here in our prep area for the Finals that nervousness that wreaked my body has returned. At least prepping my tank is keeping most of my mind off of my nerves, now if I can just find a way to distract my other half of my brain I'll be ready to go. Everyone else seems to be like me, nervous about the match we are about to take part in. Apart from Ao, if she is nervous then she is hiding it while as I can't see a single shred of weakness being shown on her face. Katyusha, Nonna, Kay and Darjeeling have all come by to wish us luck and they all said that this match will be a good one. But they left and now we are just finishing up our final checks of our tanks before the match, it will only be a few minutes until the call comes for us to move to our starting points for this match. But now that we are here with nothing to do but wait, it horrible because all our nervousness and worries surface and we can't distract ourselves now. This won't do I think looking out over my team to see them looking scared and like they don't won't to do this which to be honest I have felt like giving up to at least once this morning, slowing my own feels about this I step forward to help them.

"Everyone listen up!" I call out getting my whole to gather around me, I can see the fear in their faces and make a real effort to hide my own fear. "We are going to fight soon, as you all know this will be our hardest match yet. The Ooarai won last year, they are a good team and have a good commander. But we can beat them. Their tanks aren't as good as other teams, if we can beat Kuromorimine's heavy tanks then we can be these tanks am I right?"

"Yeah" My team mates reply all of them sounding more confident.

"We fight smart, we work together and we give it our all" I continue feeling more confident myself. "If we do that then even if we loss we can go home with our heads held high, second place is still a great achievement for us. But I want to win, I know you do too. So we give it our all and have fun, win or loss you can all still feel proud of yourselves for making it this far against all odds. Now let's go out there and fight, let's go out there and win!"

"Yeah!", "Let's go" and "We can do this!" all these words blend together as my team cheers.

"Both teams head to you designated starting points" The matches announcer calls out over the radio. "I repeat both teams head to you designated starting points"

"Everyone to their tanks!" I order climbing onto my tank. "Let's move out, have fun and win!"

* * *

I stare out across the battlefield but this time I am asking what would the enemy commander Miho Nishizumi do? The weathers perfect, no fog, rain and snow, no signs of the weather changing in the sky just a perfect sunny day and a warm on too but the wind is a bit chilly. The battle area isn't flat it's full of hills ranging it heights and sizes, trees are scattered throughout the hills but none of the patches are thick enough to hide a tank it. Finally, right next to the Ooarai Girls High School teams starting position is a town, I can see the tops of the buildings from here and from a look of a map all the streets of that town looks tight and there are countless places to hide a tank in the maze of streets. Now if I was Miho I would wait in the town for the other team to attack me, Miho did that in last year's finals so there's a good chance she would do it again. Looking around at my tanks I feel a little more confident, this is the first time we have been able to field every tank we have. We have a good mix of tanks, speed, fire power and armour. Now if we are smart and careful we can win, they are all good tanks if you use them properly.

"Match start" The announcer calls out.

"All tanks follow my lead" I order as our tanks roar into life, gentle vibrating as we turn our engines on. "Stuart teams move out to your lookout positions"

Our tanks slowly start to roll forward following our planned route, at the team meeting we had just before my date with Alex yesterday we decided this route is the best way for us to move towards the enemy. It is relaying on our presumptions of the enemy positioning themselves inside the town and it is a big gamble but, given the terrain and if the gamble pays off we should catch the Ooarai team by surprise. We are moving along the bottom of the battlefield, using the hills for cover we can sneak behind the enemy and attack them in the rear. We will have to move slowly so our tanks don't kick up the dirt giving away our position, we will need to keep our eyes open because we can easily be ambushed along the way. We move forward well the Stuarts move out to their positions, again something we discussed yesterday. Their our two high hills that they are heading to because from up their they will be able to give us a good few minutes warning if the Ooarai tanks decide to attack us, it won't be much but every second counts and it will give us enough time to take up defensive positions.

"I know we have a good chance but…" Yura says looking at her hands in her lap. "I'm still nervous"

"Me too" Hana adds as she adjusts her headset for the radio.

"Everyone is" I tell them, there's no point denying it we are all nervous. "It will change though when the fighting begins, one thing I learnt from this sport is that a soon as the fighting starts you nervousness will vanish as if it was blown away by the first explosions"

"I know" Yura replies looking up with a smile. "Our first match I couldn't stop shaking, it only stopped when they ambushed use. After that I never had a chance to feel anything, I could only react to what was happening"

"And that will happen today" I tell my crew. "Yukari how long till we get in position?"

"About five minutes" Yukari answers while keeping her eyes forward out of the driver's viewport to the world outside.

"Good, Hanna" I say getting ready for the coming fight, Hanna looks to me waiting to hear what I have to say. "Tell everyone to keep their eyes open and scanning the area, we will be engaging the other team soon"

* * *

**Miho Nishizumi P.O.V**

* * *

"Have Duck or Rabbit Team found the enemy?" I ask wonder where they could be, I was expecting them to send out scouts to find us before they engage us with their main force. But we haven't spotted a single one of their team's tanks, not a scout, decoy or one being used as bait to lure us into a trap.

"No they haven't" Saori replies looking up and sounding worried. "Do you think they are trying to sneak up on us?"

"They must be" I answer slightly worried about the absence of the Koala Forest tanks and the silence of the battle area. "We have to assume they know where we are, Saori tell the other team to relocate to our secondary positions Mako move our tank back"

* * *

**Lynnette Bishop "Lynne" P.O.V**

* * *

After about ten minutes of driving slowly across the battle area in a single file we arrive at our staging area for our assault on the town, right now it's just on the other side of the hill in front of us and since we are not being shot at I believe we arrived undetected. Our scouting Stuarts haven't reported anything so with a sigh of relief because the plan is working so far I prepare myself for the battle to come, as I watch our tanks line up ready to charge of the hill I know this battle will be a hard one to win even with the element of surprise on our side. Miho Nishizumi seems the type of person to quickly shrug off any surprises, her match with Pravda when Katyusha ambushed and trapped her proved that. Her quick reaction combined with Katyusha's over confidence and the delay in her assault meant that Pravda suffered a stunning defeat at the hands of Ooarai, I can't make the same mistakes as Katyusha or relay on surprise to win this battle. I have to be smart and out fox her, with Miho as my opponent I can say for sure that won't be an easy thing to do. I just have to play things by ear and take my opportunities as they come, I'm sure that Miho won't give me many.

"Hana get me a report from our Stuarts, I want to know what they see" I order after looking around to make sure all our tanks our in position, Hana quickly goes to work and soon gets me those reports.

"One reports seeing nothing, the other also reports nothing" Hana replies making me very happy, we really have gone unnoticed. But before I can give the order to begin our assault our radio crackles into life, Hana quickly answers it and her face loses some of its colour. I have a bad feeling about this, Hana turns to face me before she relays what she just heard to leave her a little paler in the face. "Lynne two tanks have just arrived blocking our way, it doesn't appear that they know we are here but… One is Tiger and the other is a Char B-1bis, they are both holding position"

"It's ok we can deal with them" I tell her bring some colour back to her face before I continue. "We attack as planned, tell the other Hellcat to attack the Tiger with us and everyone else to aim for the other tank. Hana patch me through to the other Hellcat"

"One minute" Hana says before tuning the radio. "You're on"

"This is Lynne do you hear me?" I say making sure our line is open.

"We hear you, what are your orders?" One of the twins replies who dangerously fixed an engine well it was running not that long ago, I can't remember what twin is in charge but I do know that they are both stupidly fearless.

"There's a Tiger plus one other tank just over the hill, we have the Tiger while other tanks take out the plus one" I tell her and I swear I can feel her smile against her mic. "We will blow off its tracks as we come over the hill then you will take one side well I take the other, one of us should get a kill shot on it"

"Got it" She replies sounding confident that my plan will work.

"Hana tell our team to attack now" I order after taking a quick deep breath.

Seconds later the light purring of our engines turn into a loud roar defiantly letting the Ooarai Tiger and Char know that we are here, our tanks drive forward quickly gain speed as we climb up the hill. On top I see that both Ooarai tanks have seen us, luckily they are still turning their turrets round to face us as we start to charge down the other side right towards the enemy tanks. The Char gets knocked out right away before it can even take aim at one of our charging tanks, a salvo of shells from our tanks land on it and all around it hiding the Ooarai tank in a cloud of dirt. Only their Tiger manages to fire but it's a shot we saw coming, both mine and the other Hellcat swerves as the shell explodes between our two tanks causing dirt to clang against our armour but not doing any real damage. Now it's our turn, both our tanks fire knocking off one of the Tiger tracks as it tries to revers out of here away from our blitzkrieging tanks. Our tanks can reload much faster than the Tigers, soon both our Hellcats are flanking the metal beast and fire a second shot. Soon the Tiger deploys its white flag as the round from my tank slams into the side of the turret and the other Hellcat's round explodes in the engine, both from point blank range defeating the thick armour. Two down with any losses of our own, a great start for us.

"Hana tell Ao to take half our tanks down the street on the left, the other half will follow us on the right" I order as I savour this one small favour. "Also tell everyone to move fast and work together, the other team must be spread out so let's move fast and knock them out well they are isolated"

* * *

**Miho Nishizumi P.O.V**

* * *

"Miho Mallard and Leopon team have been knocked out" Saori tells me sounding shocked and surprised at the news. "The other school attacked as a group and overwhelmed them knocking them both out, they never stood a chance and all their tanks are still in the game"

"They blitzed us!" Yukari calls out sounding just as surprised.

"Yes now have all our tanks regroup at our position, we need to gather together if we want to counter this" I tell them. This isn't good, two tanks down and the other school is swarming the town. "Tell Hippo and Anteater team to try and slow them, they need to buy us some time to regroup"


	12. Chapter 12

**Lynnette Bishop "Lynne" P.O.V**

* * *

Everything is going well, two enemy tanks down and all of our own are still fully operational and currently surging through the streets of the town, it two groups we hunt down the remaining Ooarai tanks. So far we have seen nothing, nothing but empty streets. Confident and in high sprites after the first shots of the battle we charge, towards Ooarai and hopefully towards victory. We move fast and in numbers, the other team's tans must be spread out because you do not send a Tiger tank out to scout. We have a golden opportunity here, we can destroy the enemy before they regroup and severally deplete their forces. Maybe even knock out their flag tank, if we move fast and our lucky we can strike a serious blow against the Ooarai team before they regroup and counter. But as we charge we see nothing but the deserted streets that seems really creepy, something about an abandoned town really gives me the creeps. It might be from that time when Darjeeling saved my life, from the time when that dog attacked us in that abandoned building back in Britain. I just shiver at the sight of the empty quiet streets and that memory doing my best to ignore both, I can't get distracted right now with a commander as skilled as Miho as my opponent. I need to be alert and ready, she can easily attack us at any moment.

"Hana can you ask Ao if her group has spotted anything yet?" I looking down, right now I am stood half out the turret with my wind blowing in the air on the lookout for any Ooarai tanks.

"One minute" Hanna replies as she sets about getting in contact with Ao, about a minute later she gets A's report. "Ao, she says all she sees are empty streets"

"Ok tell her to have her group re-join ours at the park" I say looking back up with a bad feeling in my gut. It's quiet but too quiet, a battle should be this quiet until its overs once the first shots have been fired. "Yukari be ready to turn at a moment's notice" Just as I say those words I see a flash then another own, a boom soon follows and it's a sound I know all too well. The ground in front of my tank explodes as two shells land so close to my tank that I can feel the force of the expositions lift the tank up off of the ground, I drop down into the tank much quicker than any other before and give out my orders just as quick. "Yukari take us down the alley on the right, Hanna tell the three tanks behind us to follow and the others to head right" Our column of eight tanks splits in half quickly putting the walls of the building between them and the guns of the Ooarai tanks that just shot at us, it doesn't eliminate the treat but it does get our tans out of harm's way for a few moments. "Misato load an armour piercing shell, Yura get ready to fire on my command"

The girls that crew this tank with me quickly go about their work making their jobs seem easy now, looking at them right now it's hard to believe that they only sat in this tank for the first time a few years ago. Soon the shell is loading in half the time it took during our first match, Yura prepares herself to fire. Yura is the girl I am most surprised with, she couldn't hit the side of a barn with our main cannon but know she is one of the best shots I have ever seen. She's been a great friend and a great gunner, I would never believe you if you told me she would turn out to be the girl she is today and even now seeing her grow into the girl before me I still can't believe it. I feel a small smile of pride grace my lips as I watch my crew work flawlessly but I soon have to put those feelings aside to get back into the game, we have a match to win don't we.

"Ready to fire" Yura tells me has she moves her hands to the trigger gently resting her finger on it ready to fire as soon as I tell her too.

"Good, Yukari takes us back on the street and towards where we saw that flashes of gun fire" I say feeling we are ready to return the favour those Ooarai tanks just gave us. "Hanna I want our other half to do the same"

"Lynne they can't" Hanna tells me sounding alarmed. "They are under attack by two enemy tanks"

"Then we go and save them" I reply thinking this is better, now we know where those tanks that just greeted us are. "Take us two them Yukari, Hanna tell our tanks to prepare for battle. Also I want a damage report on our other tanks"

"Everyone's ready" Hanna tells me before the bad news comes. "They lost Matilda and are pinned down exchanging fire, they can't take them out all their shots are bouncing off the enemy tanks"

"Got it" I reply taking a deep breath, possible heavy armoured tanks. "Yura aim for their sides and rears, Yukari it's you job to make a shot like that possible"

We quickly find the sight of the shootout, we hear it before we see it the sounds of their cannons firing echoes through the streets like thunder. Then we can see stray shells exploding in the streets and buildings right before we turn the corner and come face to face with our opponent's tanks, a StuG and Type 3 Chi-Nu firing a pair of shells straight into another Matilda knocking it out. Its white flag deploys and it seems the Ooarai tank duo spots us, they start to turn to leave.

"They are retreating" Yukari says as we just sit here and watch them withdraw, we can't just watch. Losing these two tanks will hurt the Ooarai team giving us an advantage over them.

"Don't let up" I quickly reply snapping out of it. "All tanks are to engage whoever the train their guns on first, we haven't got time to assign targets"

The ground shakes as the shells from all our tanks explode in and around the Ooarai tanks and on their armoured skins, the two tanks disappear under a thick cloud off black smoke cause by our own shells. The smoke slowly clears, it clears to reveal both good and bad news. The good news is that the StuG is knocked out with both of its sides torn apart from our canon fire, the bad news is that Type 3 is still in the match and Lynne can only watch as the turret slowly turns. It fires before any of our tanks can reload and stop it, the shells this time hits one of our two M3 Lee's causing it to explode in flames. Seconds later and seconds too late we reload and fire, our round at flies straight and true slamming into the side armour of the Type three knocking it out. Three losses four kills Lynne says in her mind making a mental note to keep track of the amount of tanks both sides, we have the numbers by they have surprise on their side as I have no idea where the rest of the Ooarai tanks are.

"Where to now?" Yukari asks as we savour another small victory.

"To the park to regroup" I reply. "Then to find the Ooarai team"

* * *

**Miho Nishizumi P.O.V**

* * *

"Everyone's here" Saori says looking to me, the news of Anteater and Hippo team being knocked out has just come in. The news of the tanks the knocked out is nothing compared to what we have lost. Four of our most powerful tanks gone and we only knocked out three of their tanks and the biggest threats to us are still moving. "What are your orders?"

"We head to the park, we take up defensive positions their and wait for the other team to attack" I reply looking at my map. "We can dig our tanks into the grass and do our best to hide them"

I stand back up hanging half out the hatch and look around, our remaining tanks start to roll forward as I look around. A Panzer III, Stuart and two M4 Sherman's to my left. A Lee, Type 89, another Panzer III and our Hetzer to my right. Flowing behind us is a Carro Armato P 40, Jagdpanzer IV and finally our newest tank just brought before the final's with money we managed to scrap together is the British made Black Prince. Including my Panzer IV we have twelve tanks in total, we may have les tanks then the other team but we still can fight with what we have left. But the other team have speed on their sides, we can't match them there unless we leave our heavier tans alone and valuable so as things stand they can run circles around us and we can't give chase.

"The other team are good aren't they" I hear Hana say below me.

"It nothing we hadn't expected" Yukari replies as we near the park. "Any team that can defeat, Kuromorimine, Pravda and Saunders must be a good team" Yukari is right, Koala Forest High School certainly are as good as we expected them to be. We round the corning to the park and come face to face with the, with the team that easily and rapidly took out so four of our tanks.

"Enemy tanks dead ahead all tanks open fire" I quickly order as soon as I spot the enemy tanks, it can't be their whole team but right now we have them outnumbered and out gunned. "Mako move our tank behind the Jagdpanzer for cover"

Both sides, our tanks and theirs fire at the same time. A line of shells get send both ways, soon both our teams tanks our hidden in great clouds of dirt as the ground shakes with the force of the countless explosions around us. As the dust and dirt disappears the once green grassy field of the park is gone, in its place is a cratered landscape with several disabled tanks. Our Stuart lays silent with a small fire in its engine and our Type 89 is also still with its small white flag gentle blowing in the calm cool breeze, Koala Forest have suffered only just slightly worse than we have with the loss of two Crusader's and an M3 Grant. But we still have hem outgunned and outnumbered, the other team must know it two as they start to retreat. I watch their fire, its shell just bounces of the front armour of the Jagdpanzer then off our turret after it bounced up. Both our tank and the Jagdpanzer return fire scoring two direct hits on the T14, it disappears for a second behind the twin expositions but when I can see it again I see its white flag has deployed. The rest of the Koala Forest tanks have retreated down a street safe from our guns leaving us in command of the park, our first victory but at the loss of several of our tanks. I sigh in relief as the battle ends but before I can enjoy this small victory another shell explodes nearby and two slam into the side of the Jagdpanzer knocking it out, more shells explode around us and I feel for the first time since the match first started like I have made an mistake.

"Miho another group of tanks have just arrived on our left" Hana reports, I quickly look that way ad see a group of tanks lining up on our flank preparing to fire again. When I turn back I see the first group we just engaged returning, this trap doesn't seem to have been planned but we are still caught right in the middle of it.

"What are your orders?" Yukari ask me as shells start to rain down all around us.

* * *

**Lynnette Bishop "Lynne" P.O.V**

* * *

We sneak into the park undetected, the Ooarai tanks that just pushed Ao's section back and knocked her T14 out isn't even looking our way. All the other teams' turrets are pointed right at the street our tans retreated down, so feeling confident that we will give the Ooarai team a nice surprise I give the order.

"All tanks open fire" All our tanks fire at once with are shells landing all around the Ooarai teams tanks, their Jagdpanzer takes several hits to its side and deploys its white flag. "Hana have the other group count to ten then attack hopefully by then we will have the full attention of the other team, Yura try to aim for their flag tank and I want everyone else to engage the other enemy tanks"

"Ok" Yura replies as she fires another shell, I watch it glance off the top of the Ooarai Panzer IV's turret taking off a huge part of its armoured skirt but their flag tank is still in the game.

"The rest of our tanks are attacking now" Hana tells me and I see what's left of Ao's group renter the park, this is perfect and I couldn't have set anything better than this up if I tried in a million years. Our tanks have sandwiched the Ooarai tanks and looking and Miho who I see hanging out the hatch of her Panzer IV I see a shocked surprised look on her face, something else I couldn't have done if I tried. But as expected of her Miho quickly recover, I see her give her team orders then her tanks starting to back up.

"Have all our tanks chase after them, don't let them escape" I say as both the Ooarai M4 Sherman's get taken out by countless direct hits, a Panzer III also gets knocked out but the rest of the Ooarai tanks retreat back into the streets of the town. We move until we are about to enter the streets chasing after them, then then I suddenly remember the finals last year when Ooarai beat Kuromorimine by fighting in the streets. "All tanks stop, we can't win in a street fight"

"Then what are we going to do" The twin in command of the other Hellcat asks pulling up next to my tank.

"Both our tanks will wait here" I reply before looking down at Hana. "Hana tell the rest of our team this…"

* * *

**Miho Nishizumi P.O.V**

* * *

"That was close" I sigh sinking back into my seat.

"I know they nearly had us" Saori says also looking relieved that we escaped.

"But they aren't chasing us" Yukari points out. "They must be up to something, they out number us now so they should have pressed their advantage and chased us"

"They probably studied our tactics like we studied theirs" I tell them. "They must have seen how we used the streets last year, I don't think we can repeat what we did then against this team"

"Your right, that British girl certainly knows what she is doing" Yukari replies rubbing her chin and thinking for a moment. "I don't think she would take any bait we give her for a trap, we need to try and engage her but the now have the numbers… I don't know what to do"

I don't ever, the other team has more tanks then us, must be feeling confident and a skilled commander. I never faced someone like her, she can adapt quickly to any situation and really knows how to use her tanks to their fullest potential. I both admire and fear her, I admire her skill but fear her now she is my opponent. But I can't think of her as an impossible to beat opponent, she must have a weakness just like anyone else. Her tanks may be it, they may be a deadly threat under her command but most of them have weak armour. We could try hit and run tactics but I think she would quickly counter those, so the only option we have is to leave the two and engage them at long range. But before I can give any orders or let my team in on the plan a pair of tank tracks can be heard in the distance getting close.

"I need all our tanks to be ready to move" I say hearing those tracks, we can't let the other team find and engage us right now. If they were at close range then we will lose or be lucky to escape, so we need to move, take a shot at them the pull back. Two Stuarts come round the corner, their turrets turn towards us most likely taking aim at our tracks. "Hana take them out" Hana fires knocking out the lead Stuart but our tank that fires at the second misses, that Stuart returns fire blowing off the tracks of our M3 Lee. "Mako back our tank up their main force can't be far behind"

"We're abandoning Rabbit team?" Saori asks sounding surprised at my orders, I am too after I went so far to help them out in last year's finals.

"I don't like it ever but we have to move, if we stay here the other team will surround and defeat us" I gently tell them really hating giving this order but it was a necessary order, we can't fight the other team right now. "Tell the other teams to pull back too" I look over to the Lee seeing the members of Rabbit through the large open hatch on the side of their tank. "I'm sorry we can't help you this time"

"It's ok" One of the girls says.

"We understand" Another say.

"Just win this"

"We can hold them here well you escape"

"Thank you" I say to them as we start to leave, I keep watching them as they close the tanks hatch and we back away. They exchange fire with the Stuart preventing it from blowing the tracks of another one of our tanks, grateful and sad at abandoning them I watch them until they are out of sight. Our tanks move away to the sound of cannon fire, heading down the street at full speed hoping to avoid engaging the other team's tanks until we are out in the open. We make good progress until I see something, a steel covered tank pulling out into the street blocking our path. It's a Comet and its gun is aimed right at us. "Enemy tank right in front of us, take the alley way on the left"

"More tanks behind us" Saori says relaying the reports from the tank guarding our rear but I can't see as my tank serves into the hanger, seconds later our last Panzer III is hit and knocked. It must have been the Comet that did it judging by the way the tank moves, unfortunately it completely blocks the alley behind us and cuts us off from the other teams.

"We are cut off, Mako keep us moving we need to find a way back to the others" I say before a flash out of the corner of my eyes, then I realise what it is. "Stop the tank!" I yell and as our tank screeches to a halt and a pair of enemy shells flies just in front of ours, I look to see two Hellcats ready to take us out and the Koala Forest High School Sensha-do's team commander Lynnette Bishop. Our eyes meet as the battle for the match begins, both commanders in their team's flag tanks ready to bring this match to an end. "Get moving, Hana shoot only on my command"

* * *

**Lynnette Bishop "Lynne" P.O.V**

* * *

"Fire!" I order both our tanks fire but Miho see's it coming, I hear her order her tank to halt and it stops just in time to avoid being hit by our shells. "Everyone get ready, this is where we end this. Win or lose it ends here, Yura fire only when I give the order and Hana tell the other Hellcat to engage at will their job is to distract the other team while we go in for the kill"

"The twin says they are moving out now and our other tanks just reported in, our Stuart is still preventing the M3 from repairing its track and our other tans still have the rest of their tanks pinned down fighting them" Hana tells me, everything is going according to plan. Dived and conquer, it worked in the past and its working right now. I look over to the over team and meet Miho's eyes, I can see it in her eyes that she knows that this is where our match ends too. We are both ready for what is to come, I watch her as her tank starts to move.

"Yukari get us moving" I order and both our tanks lurch forward, the fight to end this match has begun. We get onto the tail of the enemy flag tank only to see it aiming its gun at us and firing, the shell only just miss's us but it scraps along the side of our tanks armour causing a loud deafening screeching sound to echo throughout the area as the shell takes off the paint on the side of our tank. The other Hellcat fires but Miho's tank severs to dodge it easily. "Yura take a shot" Our shell is closer taking off the side skirting protecting on of their tracks but they again serves, at the last minute they served to the side to avoid a direct hit. "Nice shot, Misato load a HE round and Yura prepare to fire to the side of the tank we just exposed"

"Won't an AP shell be better?" Misato asks hesitant to load a different shell then she normally does, in fact I think this is the first time we have fired a HE shell.

"Not in this case" I tell her not taking my eyes off of Miho's tank and as our other Hellcat fires again, this shell is dodged again just as easily as the first and Miho takes her tank down a side street. "In this case the force of the explosions will take off their exposed track"

"I get now" Misato replies before going about reloading our cannon. "Shell loaded and read to fire"

"Great, Yura get ready first chance we get we are taking off that track" I say as we round that same corner to see Miho isn't going down easily, her tank has turned right around to face us and is ready to fire. "Yukari hard left!"

I quickly yell but it's too late their shells leaves their main gun and hits our tank dead centre knocking it out but I can't forces on that right now, our tank is blow to the side and skids down a nearby hill. The next thing I know I am flying, I know I've left the tank but I have known I dead how. Then everything goes black and I swear I can hear my name being screamed.


	13. Chapter 13

I blink awake my eyes stinging as they struggle to adjust to the bright light I am staring into, I try to lift my hand. To move it in front of my eyes to block the light but they feel heavy, I struggle to life them and only manage to sluggishly move it between my eyes and lights. I slap my face lightly as I drop my unusually heavy arm, it doesn't seem right. My body should be this weak ad feel so heavy and this light, no light should be this bright. Then I start to hear things, voices at least I think its voices I hear. I lay hear listening to them as I try to adjust my eyes to this brighter then bright light, the voices are so muffled and quiet it's impossible to hear what they are saying. All of a sudden the light disappears and I slowly move my hand away to see what is behind it, I see a blurred room which is spinning and several people surrounding me. My head hurts with all this spinning but everything slowly starts to come to a halt, the blurry images get clear too and soon I can make out shapes. I can see people, walls and some kind of machine that is covered with changing lights. The voices suddenly stop and I can see all the heads of the people turned to look towards me, I can't tell who they are right now only that they are all looking right at me.

"Lynne!" Two of the figures suddenly lurch forward wrapping their hands around me, I can barely feel them as my whole body feels numb. I recognise the voices now, they were much clearer this time. I look down at them and they look up at me, slowly the faces of Yura and Darjeeling smiling at me with tears in their eyes.

"Your awake" Darjeeling says sounding like she is about to cry.

"You were out cold for over five hours" Yura tells me also on the verge of tears. "We were beginning to think you would never wake up"

"What happened?" I asks them my throat feeling like sandpaper and my voice sounding rough. "I can only remember our tank being hit"

"We were knocked down a hill by the force of the shot, our tank flipped over and you were thrown from the tank" Yura answers as she and Darjeeling let me go.

"You landed hard and was knocked out" Darjeeling finishes.

I take a quick look around the room to see all the members of the Koala Forest High School Sensha-do team as well as my parents, Kay and Katyusha. Everyone looks worried, some have been crying. I must have been hurt bad, I certainly feel that way. My numb and slow body could be down to some pain killer I was given, I can only feel a banging sensation in my head that feels like someone is using my skull as a drum. Then I see someone else, looking just as worried as the others and with a group of girls I don't recognise one of which is holding a group of beautiful flowers, Miho Nishizumi. Our eyes meet briefly before she steps forward, she bows her head low before speaking.

"I'm sorry for hurting you" She says sounding nervous and really sincere she looks up at me with a tear traveling down her cheek. She didn't have to apologise, people get hurt all the time in this sport. Tanks are still deadly weapons and someone is bond to get hurt, I really respect her for that as very few people will apologise for what she did. She had nothing to apologise for, I knew I could be hurt while playing this sport and accepted the risks before I set foot in my first tank.

"It's ok" I tell her, my voice still rough and my throat still dry. She seems relived slightly to hear that, I guess I would be too if I was her right now. "It was an accident and I know you aren't the type of person to have put me here on purpose, where am I by the way?"

"You in the local hospital" My dad says taking a step forward through the crowd of girls. "They rushed you here as quickly as they could, you got off very lucky" He tells me looking over a piece of paper in his hands. "Six stitches and some bruising, you were lucky to haven't been more seriously hurt. You still have a few test but should be released in an hour or two if everything goes well"

We all talk about the match and how close it was, everyone seems happy despite the loss and the worry they had for my injury is quickly disappearing. We start laughing and joking, it quickly turns into just us hanging out instead me laying in a hospital ben. I am laying in a hospital bed, it just doesn't feel like I am. My parents leave us soon after we start talking, they go to speak to the doctor treating me leaving us all alone. Miho and the crew of her tank all turn out to be very nice girls and I am really surprised by the amount of knowledge their crews loader Yukari Akiyama aka Sergeant Oddball has about tanks, she's like a walking encyclopaedia when it comes to tanks. Hana Isuzu their crew's gunner is the amazing follower arranger that made the bokay of flowers the Ooarai Girls gave me to apologise for the accident, Mako was friendly at first but know she just sleeps in the corner of the room. The last member of the crew Saori Takebe I was getting along with until Alex walk in to see me, the moment she found out I was dating Alex she changed. She starts to demand to know how I got a boyfriend, Alex grey eyes I swear sparkly as he turns and tells her who we met.

"I was handing over tanks to her" Alex says answering her for me. "Then repaired them for her, we started dating alone the way"

* * *

We came runners up, we didn't win but it felt like it. When we returned to the ship no one felt defeated, the people cheered and we held our heads up high as we boarded the ship. We may not have won but we did do the best the school has ever done before, no one is upset, no one is disappointed and no one feels bad about the end result. We did well, gave it our all and had fun. No one could ask anymore from us. So we wave and smile at the cheering crowd, we parade through the streets of the ships feeling like we just won. The next day the schools headmaster formally congratulated us, I accepted on behalf of the whole team his praise and a certificate for hard work and achievement. The cheer we got from the whole school was unbelievable, no one seems to care we didn't win. I can tell next year will be better, already students have flooded into the tank sheds wanting to join. I smile at them saying we will need to get new tanks but that didn't matter, the headmaster increased our clubs budget and a money collection by the people on the ship provided more the enough money to buy enough tanks for everyone.

* * *

**Ten Years Later**

* * *

"That how we did it, that's how we managed to save a club that was on the verge of being disbanded" I tell my students, they all look at me eyes wide wanting to hear more. But that is a story for another time. "It proves that hard work, team work and courage can do"

"What happened the next year?" One girl asks her hand shooting so fast into the air it's like she has a rocket attached to it, the bell rings though before I can tell another story.

"I will tell you tomorrow, for now study the tactics we discussed today there will be a test tomorrow morning" I reply getting a lot of sighs.

I watch them leave smiling at what these girls can do, I never thought of becoming a teacher let alone opening my own school. It was only by chance that I discovered my talents for teaching, a group of girls asked me for tips. It turns out those girls were in the finals that year and wanted my advice, I told them what I could think of and they ended up winning that year. I walked in to find Alex had cooked us both dinner and we discussed it over our meal, Alex is a great cook and husband. I got the idea of opening my own school then, a school for Sensha-do. It will only be part time but it ended up being very successful, schools would send over their new tank crews to me for training. I teach tactics, Yura agreed to teach the shooting and Alex taught them how to repair their tanks, we would split the other subjects but I always taught driving is well ever since Alex tried to take a BT-42 drag racing. Yura would have taught it but she is still small, her legs will never reach the ground. So between us we train any girl who comes into our school, it a good job we all enjoy. I love my life, everything worked out so well. It was all thanks to the hard work I put into saving the Koala Forest High School's Sensha-do team, I may not have bonded with Yura if I didn't I defiantly would have met the wonderful man I would marry. It just goes to show you what hard work can do, Alex comes in just as I finish packing up. Together hand in hand we leave, heading home for a nice meal. Only this time it won't be just the two of us, I can't wait to tell him the result of the test I took this morning. We have a wonderful life together, soon a beautiful baby will be brought into it.


End file.
